RAS question
CAG audits accounts of:
Correct answer: (B) Union Govt, State Govts, and govt-financed bodies.
The CAG audits the accounts of Union and State governments, Union Territories, government companies and corporations, and bodies or authorities substantially financed by government.
Explanation
The CAG's audit mandate is deliberately broad, so option B is the only complete choice. The CAG audits Union, State and UT governments, plus bodies substantially financed by government. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Regional Capacity Building and Knowledge Institute Ranchi FAQ supports that scope: it lists Union and State government departments, public commercial enterprises controlled by Union and State governments, autonomous bodies and authorities owned or controlled by them, and bodies or authorities substantially financed from Union or State sources. This is why the answer cannot be narrowed to the Union government alone or to one financial institution. In governance questions, CAG is tested as an accountability institution covering public money, not as an auditor of only one department or sector.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) RBI alone is too narrow because Union and State government departments, government-controlled enterprises, autonomous bodies and substantially financed bodies fall within the CAG audit domain.
- (C) Only private companies is wrong because CAG audit coverage concerns government departments, government-controlled enterprises and government-financed bodies, not private companies as a general category.
- (D) Only Union Government is incomplete because CAG audit coverage includes State government departments and State-controlled or State-financed bodies as well.
Concept
This tests the constitutional and governance role of the Comptroller and Auditor General as India's public audit authority. It recurs in RAS because audit jurisdiction is central to questions on financial accountability, public expenditure and institutional checks.