Discuss the role of Public Accounts Committee in establishing accountability of the government to the people.
Approach · directive: “discuss”
What it asks · Explain how the PAC uses CAG audit reports to scrutinise expenditure, what it can and cannot do, and how this makes the executive answerable to Parliament and so to the people.
It asks 2 things — answer each
- Discuss how the PAC works: composition, its use of CAG reports and its powers
- Discuss how this establishes the government's accountability to the people, with its limits and how to strengthen it
Open with · Article 151 lays the CAG's reports on Union accounts before Parliament; the Public Accounts Committee is where they are examined.
Cover
- Composition: up to 22 members (up to 15 from Lok Sabha, 7 from Rajya Sabha), constituted every year; an Opposition chair since 1967-68.
- Mandate: ascertain how money granted by Parliament has been spent; examine CAG audits, e.g. the performance audit of crop insurance schemes.
- Accountability: secretaries answer to elected members; reports are public; ministries must submit Action Taken Notes on all audit paragraphs.
- Limits: post-mortem, advisory; a 2009-10 PAC report found 4,934 audit paragraphs pending with ministries.
- Way forward: time-bound Action Taken Notes, a tracking mechanism, timely tabling of audits and open hearings.
Close with · A PAC whose findings are acted on in time is the surest route to SDG 16.6: effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.
Add value (verified)
- Article 151 requires the CAG's reports on Union accounts to be laid before each House of Parliament, the material on which the PAC's scrutiny is based.The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2024), Article 151 - Legislative Department ↗“The reports of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India relating to the accounts of the Union shall be submitted to the President, who shall cause them to be laid before each House of Parliament.”
- The PAC is constituted every year; its main duty is to ascertain how the money granted by Parliament has been spent.JPC vs PAC — PRS Legislative Research blog ↗“The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), however, is constituted every year. Its main duty is to ascertain how the money granted (budget) by Parliament has been spent by the government.”
- Ministries must submit Action Taken Notes on all audit paragraphs; a 2009-10 PAC report found 4,934 paragraphs still pending.JPC vs PAC — PRS Legislative Research blog ↗“ministries have to submit Action Taken Notes to the PAC on all audit paragraphs. A 2009-10 report of the PAC, however, noted that there were 4,934 audit paragraphs still pending with various ministries.”
- The PAC has examined the CAG's performance audit of agriculture crop insurance schemes.Public Accounts Committee — PRS Legislative Research ↗“Committee on Public Accounts Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Performance Audit of Agriculture Crop Insurance Schemes”
- SDG target 16.6: develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.Goal 16 targets — UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Sustainable Development ↗“Target 16.6 Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2017, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 221words · Minimalist IAS
Article 151 requires the CAG's reports on Union accounts to be laid before Parliament. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) turns them into scrutiny, carrying the people's control over the purse to the executive.
- Parliament votes grants
- Ministries spend
- CAG audits
- PAC examines
- Action Taken Notes
How the PAC works
- Composition: up to 22 members (up to 15 from Lok Sabha, 7 from Rajya Sabha), constituted every year; an Opposition chair since 1967-68 keeps it non-partisan.
- Mandate: to ascertain 'how the money granted… by Parliament has been spent', checking for waste, loss and irregularity.
- Live example: it has examined the CAG's performance audit of crop insurance schemes.
How it establishes accountability to the people
- Answerability: secretaries explain decisions to elected members, not only to their ministers.
- Public record: reports are tabled, arming press, civil society and voters.
- Follow-through: ministries must file Action Taken Notes on all audit paragraphs.
Limits
- Post-mortem: it examines money already spent, correcting rather than preventing.
- Advisory: a 2009-10 PAC report found 4,934 audit paragraphs still pending with ministries.
Way forward
- Time-bound replies: deadlines for Action Taken Notes, with a standing tracker.
- Faster audits: timely tabling of CAG reports and open hearings on major findings.
A PAC whose findings are acted on in time is the surest route to SDG 16.6: effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
