Defending Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit over her indictment in the recently published report of Comptroller and Auditor General of India on irregularities observed in Commonwealth Games, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has said the party has decided not to take any action against her.
Reliance Industries on Saturday said it had never contested the government's right to get the company's spending on KG-D6 gas fields audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General but hoped it will not be subjected to a performance audit."RIL has at no time contested the government's right to conduct an audit by any agency, including the CAG, as provided in Section 1.9 of the Accounting Procedure of the PSC," the company said in a statement on Saturday evening.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has constituted a ministerial panel, headed by Defence Minister A K Antony, to examine the findings of the Shunglu Committee that probed alleged irregularities in conduct of the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi last year.
The auditor said that it has unfettered right of access to all records of Reliance Industries (RIL) during its audit of operations in the Krishna-Godavari basin and would override any conditions sought to be imposed on the process.
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India had called an Entry Conference with RIL and the Oil Ministry on Wednesday to begin its second round of audit that is to cover RIL's spending on KG-D6 gas fields during 2008-09 to 2011-12.
In further embarrassment to Congress, the Comptroller and Auditor General is understood to have rapped the Sheila Dikshit government in Delhi for irregularities in certain contracts related to the Commonwealth Games.
An initial audit report estimating Rs 10.67 lakh crore loss to the exchequer on account of allotment of coal blocks during 2004 to 2009 without auction caused an uproar in the Parliament and was described as "exceedingly misleading" by the CAG himself.
Taking note of the draft report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on allotment of coal blocks without auction, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the allotment of coal blocks and monitoring of the probe by a court.
Carved out of southern Bihar as a new state on November 15, 2000, Jharkhand has been plagued by adverse conditions -- low average income, high incidence of poverty and little social development because of political instability -- there have been seven government changes.
The Comptroller and Auditor General has pulled up Jammu and Kashmir forest ministry for allegedly diverting 1,883 hectares of forest land for non-forest purposes in violation of rules in Jammu district of the state.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) will start the audit work of Commonwealth Games Village in New Delhi from October 28 to probe allegations of financial irregularities.
Sources say that the constitution of the high-level committee headed by former Comptroller and Auditor General VK Shungloo to look into the organising and conduct of the Games, is just phase one of the clean-up ops.
Concerned over the frequent leaks of its "half baked reports", the office of the Union comptroller and auditor-general (CAG) has decided to issue different versions of its draft reports -- the ones given for feedback and reactions before the final version is readied -- to ministries and public sector units to nail the sources of leaks.
Days after a CAG draft report said his firm got out of turn favours from the oil ministry and its technical arm DGH, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani on Friday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The comptroller and auditor general has unearthed a Rs 450-crore scam involving the purchase of Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles by the Hyderabad-based National Technical Research Organisation, a technical arm of the external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing. In the first ever audit of any intelligence agency in India, it was found that these UAVs were lying as junk.
The CAG's audit of hydropower projects seems to be an effort for status quo that does not do justice to the formidable reputation it has attracted through some of its exemplary work
Describing these as non-working companies, the CAG in its latest report on the state tabled in the Maharashtra Assembly stated that since no purpose may be served by keeping these units in existence, the state government needs to expedite closing down of these non-working PSUs.
The CAG report had alleged the government had passed on financial gains of Rs 1.86 lakh crore to private companies by not auctioning the coal blocks.
Stung by the CAG's interim report which has found discrepancies in some deals, the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (OC) on Thursday defended its broadcasting rights deal with Fast Track despite a high commission paid to them, saying the UK company had doubled the revenue target.
The Planning Commission has decided that approvals for all social sector projects undertaken by various non-government organisations, normally outside the purview of CAG, will come with the rider that they will be subject to audit, if required.
Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley claimed on Thursday that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has to be directly blamed for the huge loss to the exchequer in allotment of coal mines. Swaraj said the PM can't be shielded behind ministers like A Raja or P Chidambaram as he did in the 2G spectrum scam.
Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi, under fire for his alleged involvement in financial improprieties related to the Commonwealth Games, on Wednesday said he is ready to face any Comptroller and Auditor General or judicial probe into the financial transactions.
The scarcity of resources is particularly evident in the case of Rajasthan compared to many other states.
The Delhi Auto Expo has grown into a high-profile event where car makers, Indian and foreign, announce new models and reach out to customers. Business Standard tracks the meticulous planning that goes into the event.
Edtech firm Think and Learn Private Ltd, owner of Byju's, on Thursday said neither the company's founder and CEO Byju Raveendran nor any other board member will attend the extraordinary general meeting called by some select investors. Shareholders at Byju's are set to vote on Friday on a resolution brought by some investors to oust founder CEO Byju Raveendran and his family members over alleged "mismanagement and failures". Byju's has called the EGM "procedurally invalid" and contractually in contravention of the company's article of association and shareholder's agreement.
The CAG also observed that the Indian Navy's auxiliary vessel strength was not increasing incommensurate with the rise in its combat fleet.
The report was tabled by deputy chief minister S K Modi in the state assembly.
Parliament's Public Accounts Committee chairperson M M Joshi on Thursday indicated that overlapping of functions of the panel and the Joint Parliamentary Committee into 2G spectrum scam was not a matter of concern and his powers went beyond the Comptroller and Auditor General report.
Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai on Wednesday rejected reports that there was pressure from Parliament's Public Accounts Committee chairman Murli Manohar Joshi to expedite audit work of 2G spectrum allocation and said no findings were ever shared with the PAC.
Some documents not yet provided, spokesperson tells DNA Money. Murli Deora's Petromin says report submitted! ADAG once again asks for tabling of report, shows 'proof' govt appointed auditors of RIL expense sheet have conflict of interest.
The new circular issued by the tax research unit of CBEC on June 19 says, "CAG would not be covered by the service head Business Support Service."
The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a supplementary charge sheet in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland scam against former defence secretary Shashi Kant Sharma and four Indian Air Force personnel, officials said Wednesday.
Indifferent attitude towards withdrawal of uneconomical stoppages, "injudicious" creation of passenger amenities and failure to augment coaches on time have led the Railways to incur a total loss of Rs 79 crore, Comptroller and Auditor General said its report for 2009-10.
Even as the United Progressive Alliance government continues to be in a tizzy over the Central Vigilance C's appointment, sources say that PJ Thomas has refused to quit, primarily because he feels that he is an honest man and because as the central vigilance commissioner he enjoys immunity against prosecution, particularly in corruption cases.
The Supreme Court on Friday severely criticised Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal for making statements undermining the Comptroller and Auditor General of India's report on the 2G spectrum scam and asked him to behave with some sense of responsibility.
In an interview with Karan Thapar on the CNN-IBN channel's Devil's Advocate programme, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia explains why he faults the controversial report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on 2G telecom spectrum allocation. Edited excerpts:
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Parliament's Public Accounts Committee Chairman Murli Manohar Joshi hit out at Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal for questioning the Comptroller and Auditor General report on the 2G Spectrum scam. He said that Sibal's comments showed both the PAC and the CAG in poor light and said that the telecom minister's conduct was unbecoming.
Whether Sibal has effectively defended Raja or not as a counsel is unclear, but his target seems to be the prime minister, feels M R Venkatesh.
There is nothing sinister or diabolic about Union minister Kapil Sibal's latest argument regarding the findings of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India pertaining to the loss to the exchequer from 2G telecom licences in 2007.
Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai has asked Public Accounts Committee Chairman Murli Manohar Joshi for permission to react to Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal\\'s open attack on him over the 2G report, according to sources.
