New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in the national capital on Tuesday to mark the first Audit Diwas.
Audit Diwas is being celebrated to mark the historic origins of the institution of CAG and the contribution it has made to the governance, transparency and accountability over the past several years.
"Audit Diwas seeks to highlight the rich contributions of CAG to boost transparency and good governance," PM Modi tweeted.
Pointing out the lapses during previous regimes, Prime Minister Modi said that audit was earlier viewed with scepticism while it is now being considered as an important part of value addition.
Addressing the event, Prime Minister said, "There was a time when the audit was seen with scepticism and fear. CAG versus government became the common mindset of our system. Sometimes officials used to think that CAG sees faults in everything. But today mindset has been changed. Today audit is considered an important part of value addition."
"Earlier, due to the lack of transparency in the banking sector, various practices used to take place. As a result, the NPAs (Non-Performing Asset) of the banks kept increasing. You know very well the work done to brush the NPAs under the carpet earlier. But we presented the reality of the previous governments, the actual situation, honestly before the nation. We will be able to find out a solution only if we identify the problems," he stated.
Prime Minister said the government has made reforms to boost transparency and easy functioning.
Attacking the previous governments, PM Modi said, "We took brave decisions of monetising unused and under-used elements. As a result of those decisions we have a reviving economy - that is being discussed & welcomed across the world."
"Today we are making a system of 'Sarkar Sarvam' where the interference of the government is decreasing, and work is also getting easier...Minimum government, maximum governance," he said.
Prime Minister emphasized that reforms like online applications for contactless customs, automatic renewals, faceless assessments and service delivery have ended the unnecessary interference of the government.
"I am glad that CAG is expediting the change, modernizing the processes. Today, advanced analytics tools, geo-spatial data and satellite imagery are being utilized," he added.
CAG Girish Chandra Murmu also attended the event. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India is the Constitutional Authority in India, established under Article 148 of the Constitution of India and founded in 1858.
