A 27-page chapter titled ‘Quality of Accounts and Financial Reporting Practices’ in the CAG’s report number 21 of 2023 shines a light on accounting shenanigans that will leave any private conglomerate and its auditors aghast at the sheer audacity of the sharp practices in central govt accounts
R. Suryamurthy, Pinak Ghosh
There is something rotten in the central government’s accounts — and the situation has been allowed to fester for a very long time with no real attempt to sort out the mess.
Last month, the auditor of the Centre’s accounts — the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) — came out with a report that revealed just how the Narendra Modi government and its accountants have carved out nooks that serve as secret repositories of public money.
The money has been diverted from some well-funded programmes and Parliament-approved cash troves for purposes that the government refuses to reveal even as it continues to cock a snook at the CAG, which has made several caustic comments about the government’s bookkeeping practices in earlier reports.
A 27-page chapter titled “Quality of Accounts and Financial Reporting Practices” in the CAG’s report number 21 of 2023 — pertaining to the central government’s accounts for the financial year 2021-22 — shines a light on accounting shenanigans that will leave any private conglomerate and its auditors aghast at the sheer audacity of the sharp practices in central government accounts….
After the truth-shower 