CAG & Railway Audit (15 MCQ with Answer)

 

Q.1) How long is the tenure of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India ?

1. 6 years

2. 5 years

3. 4 years

4. Tenure not fixed

Hint:

Constitutional Body: Article 148 provides for an independent office of the CAG. It is the supreme audit institution of India.

Appointment: Appointed by the President of India by a warrant under his hand and seal.

Tenure: A period of six years or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.

Removal: CAG can be removed by the President on the same grounds and in the same manner as a judge of the Supreme Court. He does not hold his office till the pleasure of the President. The CAG of India gives his resignation letter to the President.

 

Bonus: Head of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department - created in 1753. Guardian of the public purse and controls the entire financial system of the country at both the levels–the Centre and the state. One of the bulwarks of the democratic system of government in India. The others being the Supreme Court, the Election Commission, and the Union Public Service Commission. The accountability of the executive (i.e. Council of Ministers) to the Parliament in the sphere of financial administration is secured through audit reports of the CAG.

 

Q.2) Who among the following can appoint the Comptroller and Auditor General of India?

1. The Prime Minister 

2. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

3. The Vice President 

4. The President

 

Hint: The President can appoint the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India.

Bonus: The CAG of India is the head of the Indian Audit and Accounts department. The CAG of India is known as the Watch Dog of Public Purse or the Guardian of Public Purse.

 

Q.3) Who was the first CAG of India?

1. Shashikant Sharma

2. Vinod Rai 

3. A. K. Roy

4. V. Narahari Rao

 

Hint: The first CAG of India - V. Narahari Rao. The current CAG of India - Girish Chandra Murmu has been appointed the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). He assumed office on 8 August 2020. He has replaced Rajiv Mehrishi and will have a tenure up to 20th November 2024.

 

Bonus: V. Narahari Rao was an Indian civil servant who served the Indian Audit and Accounts Service in post independence India. He served as the first Comptroller and Auditor General of India from 1948 to 1954. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 1954, for his contributions to civil service.   

 

Q.4) Who among the following is known as the friend, philosopher, and guide to the Public Accounts Committee(PAC)?

1. Attorney General

2. Comptroller and Auditor General

3. Secretary General

4. Parliamentary Affairs Minister 

 

Hint: The members of the PAC are the member of Parliament.  PAC is responsible only to the Parliament. He audits  i) Consolidated Fund of India  ii) Expenditure of Contingency Fund of India  iii) Public Account of India

 

Bonus:  Public Accounts Committee: PAC consists of a total of 22 members. Out of these 22 members, 15 are from Lok Sabha and 7 from Rajya Sabha. The term of office of PAC is one year. Members are elected by parliament every year with a proportional representation system.  Function - To examines the annual audit reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), which are laid before the Parliament by the President. Public Accounts Committee was introduced in 1921 after its first mention in the Government of India Act, 1919. A Minister cannot be a member of the Public Accounts Committee.

 

Q.5) The Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) of India can be removed from office only by the :

1. President on the advice of the Union Cabinet.

2. Chief justice of the Supreme Court.

3. President of India after an address in both Houses of Parliament.

4. President on the advice of Chief Justice of India.

 

Hint: He can be removed from office in a manner and on grounds like Judge of a Supreme Court.  So for the removal of the CAG, the approval of both the house of the parliament is required.

 

Q.6) 'Office of CAG' in the Indian Constitution has been borrowed from which country?

1. Britain

2. Ireland

3. Canada

4. Australia

 

Hint: Features taken from Britain are the Parliamentary system, the office of CAG, the Rule of Law, and Single Citizenship.

Bonus: CAG: The Constitution of India provides for an independent office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in chapter V under Part V.

 

Q.7) Which of the following statements is/are correct about CAG?

1. CAG stands for Comptroller and Auditor-General.

2. Article 147 defines CAG of India.

1. Only 1

2. Only 2

3. Both 1 and 2

4. Neither 1 nor 2

 

Hint: CAG stands for Comptroller and Auditor-General. Article 148 of the Indian constitution defines the CAG. Article 149 of the Indian constitution defines the duties and powers of the Comptroller and Auditor-General.

Bonus: CAG is responsible to audit all receipts and expenditures of the government of India and the state government. The office of CAG was founded in 1858 and is appointed by the president of India.

 

Q.8) The Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India was created

1. through an Act of the Parliament 

2. by the Constitution 

3. through a Cabinet Resolution

4. none of the above

 

Hint: The Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India was created by the Constitution.

Bonus: Office of the Accountant General was established in 1858 (the year the British took over administrative control of India from the East India Company). In 1860 Sir Edward Drummond was appointed as the first Auditor-General. In the year 1866, the post was renamed as Comptroller and Auditor General and in the year 1884, it was re-designated as Comptroller and Auditor General of India. The Auditor-General was relieved of government control under the Government of India Act, 1919 as the post was given statutory status. The Government of India Act, 1935 gave further power to the post of Auditor General by making provisions for Provincial Auditors in the federal structure. The salary and service conditions of CAG will be decided by the law of Parliament. The constitution does not mention the eligibility, tenure, salary, service conditions, and duties and powers of the CAG. The Parliament has the right to decide these through legislation. Act of 1971 has been made in this regard. The Central Government passed the CAG (Duties, Powers, Conditions of Service) Act 1971. Under this Act, the CAG is entrusted with the responsibility of both accounting and auditors for the Central and State Governments. Amended the Act in 1976 and freed the CAG from accounting-related obligations and limited its functions to audit only.

 

Q.9) Who is the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) of India?

 

1. Girish Chandra Murmu.

2. Shashi Kant Sharma

3. Vinod Rai

4. VN Kau

 

Hint: Girish Chandra Murmu is the present Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India (October 2020). He is the 14th CAG of India.

Bonus: V. Narahari was the first CAG of India. The CAG of India is an authority, established by Article 148 of the Constitution of India. The function of the CAG is to audit all the receipts and expenditures of the Government of India and the state governments.

 

Q.10) The reports of the CAG of India relating to the accounts of a state shall be submitted to the ______ .

1. Governor of the state

2. Chief Minister of the state

3. Finance Minister of the state

4. Chief Economic Advisor of the state

 

Powers of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India:

Article 148: of the Constitution of India establishes the authority of this office. 

Article 149: Duties and Powers of the Comptroller and Auditor General.

Article 150: Form of Accounts of the Union of India and the States.

Article 151: To report to the President or to the Governors of the States on the accounts of the Union or State.

 

Q.11) Which of the following cases did not come into controversy due to the investigation by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India?

1. Coal Mine Allocation

2. Bofors Cannon Case

3. Satyam Computers Case

4. 2G Spectrum Allocation

 

Hint: The Satyam Computer Services scandal was a corporate scandal affecting India-based company Satyam Computer Services in 2009, in which chairman Byrraju Ramalinga Raju confessed that the company's accounts had been falsified.

 

Bonus: On 7 January 2009, the chairman of Satyam, Byrraju Ramalinga Raju, resigned, confessing that he had manipulated the accounts of Rs 14,162 crore in several forms. The global corporate community was said to be shocked and scandalized. In February 2009, the CBI took over the case and filed three partial charge sheets over the course of the year

Headquarters of CAG - New Delhi.

 

Q.12) Which of the following statements about the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India is not correct?

1. The procedure and grounds for his removal from office are the same as for a Supreme Court judge.

2. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India is appointed by the President.

3. The accounts of the President and the States of the Union shall be maintained in such manner as the President may on the advice of the Comptroller and Auditor General.

4. He is eligible for further office under the Union or State Government after holding his post.

 

Hint: Not eligible for re-appointment

Bonus: A period of six years or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.

 

Q.13) Which of the following statements is correct regarding the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India?

1. The senior-most officer in the Finance Ministry is appointed as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

2. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India shall only be removed from office in like manner and on the like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court.

3. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India is appointed by the Prime Minister of India.

4. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India is appointed by chief justice of India

 

Hint: He will be removed in the same way that a Supreme Court judge is removed.

Bonus:      

·        Process- Based on the resolution passed by a special majority of both houses.

·        Proven malpractice and incapability.

 

 

Q.14) Which of the following statements is/are incorrect regarding the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG)?

1. He is not eligible for further office, either under the Government of India or of any state, after he ceases to hold his office.

2. His salary is determined by the President of India.

3. He acts as a guide, friend and philosopher of the Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament.

 

1) 1 only

2) 2 only

3) 3 only

4) 1 and 2 only

 

Hint: He submits 3 audit reports to the President.  

·        Audit report on appropriation accounts.  

·        Audit report on financial accounts.  

·        Audit report on public undertakings.

 

Q.15) Who has the power to appoint the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) under Article 148 of the Indian Constitution?

1. President of India

2. Prime Minister

3. Vice President of India

4. Chief Justice of India