Public Accounts Committee (PAC)

In India, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is a parliamentary committee that audits the revenue and expenditure of the Government of India, monitoring the use of public money to ensure it is spent appropriately and lawfully.

Key Highligts:

Purpose and Role:

• Auditing Government Finances:
  The PAC’s objective is to consider the audit reports from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and the Government’s financial statements.
• Ensure Accountability:
  The PAC checks that ‘money sanctioned by Parliament is spent properly and in accordance with the purpose for which it was sanctioned’.
• Investigate Misappropriations:
  The PAC investigates the use of public money and identifies financial ineffectiveness, irregular spending of public money or any financial misappropriations leading to misappropriation, losses or inefficiencies in public money spending.
• Parliamentary Oversight of Executive Action:
  The PAC can oversee executive action. Where there could potentially be either laxity, failure to apply due diligence or wrongdoing in any action taken by the executive, the PAC can put in place an oversight mechanism.

Composition and Structure:

• Membership: 22 Members (15 Lok Sabha members and 7 Rajya Sabha members)
• Chairperson: The Chairperson is usually a Lok Sabha MP and is usually drawn from the opposition.
• Term: Membership is on the basis of a 1 year.
• Ministers cannot be members of the PAC.

History and Evolution:

• The PAC was created in 1921 following the Government of India Act 1919.
• Originally chaired by the Finance Member of the Executive Council. After Independence, however the PAC became a parliamentary committee and the chairperson was also non-official, taken from a member selected by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.