RAS question
Article 151 provides that the reports of the CAG relating to the accounts of the Union shall be submitted to:
Correct answer: (D) The President, who causes them to be laid before Parliament.
Article 151(1) requires CAG reports on the accounts of the Union to be submitted to the President, who causes them to be laid before each House of Parliament.
Explanation
Article 151 fixes the constitutional route for audit reports, so the CAG does not place Union audit reports directly before a committee or a minister. For accounts of the Union, the reports are submitted to the President; the President then causes them to be laid before each House of Parliament. This matters because the answer turns on the formal chain of accountability in the Constitution: audit scrutiny reaches Parliament through the President, not through the executive ministry or the Public Accounts Committee at the point of submission. The same article separately states the State route: CAG reports on State accounts go to the Governor, who causes them to be laid before the State Legislature.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The Public Accounts Committee is not the direct constitutional recipient under Article 151(1); Union CAG reports first go to the President for being laid before Parliament.
- (B) The Finance Minister is part of the executive, but Article 151(1) names the President, not the Finance Minister, as the recipient of Union CAG reports.
- (C) The Prime Minister is not mentioned in Article 151(1) as the authority to whom CAG reports on Union accounts are submitted.
Concept
This tests the constitutional provisions relating to the Comptroller and Auditor-General and legislative financial accountability. RAS repeatedly asks such provisions because small changes in the receiving authority alter the answer.