RAS question
CAG is the supreme audit institution under which Article?
Correct answer: (C) Article 148.
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the Supreme Audit Institution of India, is established under Article 148 of the Constitution.
Explanation
Article 148 is the constitutional provision that creates the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. The official SAI India constitutional provisions page places this under the heading "Article 148 - Comptroller and Auditor-General of India" and states that there shall be a Comptroller and Auditor-General of India appointed by the President. This is why Article 148, not the later reporting or accounting provisions, is the answer. The exam explanation then connects that office to its audit role: the CAG audits government receipts and expenditure, PSUs, and bodies receiving government funds, and CAG reports are examined by the PAC.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Article 151 deals with the CAG's audit reports being submitted to the President or Governor and laid before the legislature, not with establishing the CAG as an institution.
- (B) Article 280 concerns the Finance Commission, so it does not create or define the constitutional office of the CAG.
- (D) Article 150 concerns the form in which Union and State accounts are kept on the advice of the CAG, not the establishment of the CAG.
Concept
This tests constitutional bodies and financial accountability, a recurring RAS governance area because questions often separate an institution's establishment article from its powers, accounts, and report-laying provisions.