What is the Public Accounts Committee in India?

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is a financial committee, established in 1921 under the Government of India Act of 1919. Moreover, the Parliament of India includes the members of Parliament to form a PAC to audit the revenue and expenditure of the Government of India. Furthermore, it is done by a Single transferable vote every year to choose members of this Committee. Currently, there are a total of 22 members with 15 members of the Lok Sabha and 9 members of the Rajya Sabha in the Public Accounts Committee. Additionally, all the members of the Committee serve for a fixed term of 1 year. Notably, a minister cannot be elected as a member of a PAC. The Lok Sabha Speaker announces the Chairperson of the Committee and the current Chairperson is Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. Read on to learn more about the Functions of the Public Accounts Committee. 

What are the Functions of the Public Accounts Committee?

In addition, here are the Functions of the Public Accounts Committee:

• PAC reviews the appropriation accounts and the finance accounts of the Union government and any other accounts laid before Lok Sabha.

• Their primary function is to examine the audit reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).

• The Committee will take care of the public expenditure. Moreover, it is designed keeping in mind the economy and avoids waste, loss, corruption, prodigality, inefficiency, and worthless expenses. 

• The Committee also has to satisfy the given pointers in delivering their decision. 
• The money distributed was a legal monetary fund for the respective service or purpose.
• The budget coordinates with the authority that governs it. 
• Re-appropriation is done under the set rules.

• For all undertakings other than the Committee of Public Undertakings, the PAC has to examine the accounts of manufacturing projects, trading matters, and state corporations. 

• Additionally, investigates the accounts of autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies.

• Examine and re-examine the reports by CAG relating to stores and stocks. 

• Take account of spent money on service surpassing the granted amount by the Lok Sabha. 

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This is everything about the Public Accounts Committee. For more content related to the different states of India, visit our Civics and Polity archives.