A committee that has no power to spend a rupee, cancel a contract or punish a minister held a national meeting this week, and the Speaker of the Lok Sabha opened it. On 3 November 2026, Om Birla inaugurated the Conference of Chairpersons of Public Accounts Committees of Parliament of India and State/UT Legislatures at Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Keralam. The two-day meeting closes on 4 November with a valedictory address by the Speaker.
The theme was "Audit, Accountability and Good Governance: The Evolving Role of the PAC". The reason the Speaker made time for it is that the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is the part of Parliament that asks the question every taxpayer eventually asks: was the money spent the way the House said it should be?
What was said at Thiruvananthapuram
The Press Information Bureau's account of the inaugural session carries four messages.
- Outcomes, not just accounts. Mr Birla said it is not enough for the PAC to check figures, allocations and utilisation certificates. For roads, bridges and other works, committees should visit project sites and judge quality and timeliness. For welfare schemes, they should ask what difference the spending made.
- Old audit objections must close. He expressed concern that some audit observations remain unresolved for 10, 15 or even 20 years, and asked for a "concrete, systematic and time-bound action plan" shared by the Union and the States.
- Technology. He urged PACs to use data analytics and Artificial Intelligence to scan large volumes of expenditure data, spot trends and flag irregularities, while keeping human judgement in the loop.
- Cooperative federalism in oversight. He wanted States with strong transparency practices to share them, and asked committees to scrutinise Centre–State partnership schemes and public–private partnerships within their mandates.
The Chairperson of Parliament's PAC, K.C. Venugopal, who welcomed delegates, made a concrete proposal: at least one PAC report, together with the government's action taken on it, should be discussed in every session of Parliament. The idea is to close the gap between a report being laid on the table and being debated on the floor. The Speaker also drew attention to the practice of having the PAC chaired by a member of the Opposition, which he called a sign of the maturity of India's parliamentary democracy.
Other speakers included Harivansh, Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, and the Speaker and the PAC Chairperson of the host legislature. The state itself was renamed Keralam by Parliament in the Monsoon Session, a change we explained in our note on the Monsoon Session's 12 Bills. A PAC Conference Souvenir 2026 was also released.
A committee older than the Republic
The PAC is the oldest parliamentary committee in India. It was first constituted in 1921, after the Montagu–Chelmsford reforms (the Government of India Act, 1919) created a central legislature with some say over the budget.
Its early years were awkward. The Finance Member of the Viceroy's Executive Council chaired it, which meant that the government's own minister presided over the scrutiny of the government's spending. Things changed with the Constitution:
| Period | What changed |
|---|---|
| 1921 | Committee set up after the 1919 reforms; Finance Member in the chair |
| 1950 | Becomes a parliamentary committee; the Speaker appoints the chairperson |
| 1954–55 | Rajya Sabha members added, making the present 15 + 7 pattern |
| 1967 | First Opposition chairperson; later a firm convention |
| 4 Dec 2021 | Centenary celebrations inaugurated by the President in the Central Hall of Parliament House |
The 1967 change is the one the examiner loves. Until 1966–67 a senior member of the ruling party chaired the committee. From 1967 the Speaker has by convention picked a senior Opposition member. It is a convention, not a rule written into the Constitution or the Rules of Procedure, and it works because both sides gain: the government gets a credible audit, and the Opposition gets a real instrument. K.C. Venugopal has held the chair since August 2024.
Who sits on it
| Feature | Public Accounts Committee |
|---|---|
| Members | 22: 15 from the Lok Sabha, 7 from the Rajya Sabha |
| Election | Every year, by proportional representation with the single transferable vote |
| Term | One year |
| Chairperson | Appointed by the Speaker from among the Lok Sabha members |
| Ministers | Cannot be members |
| Main material | The CAG's audit reports; the Appropriation Accounts and the Finance Accounts |
Because the committee is reconstituted every year, its chair is normally re-appointed rather than replaced. Parties are represented roughly in proportion to their strength in each House, so the committee mirrors the House on a small scale.
From audit paragraph to action taken note
The PAC does not audit anything itself. It depends on the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), whom the Constitution places at the centre of public accountability.
- Article 148 provides for the CAG, appointed by the President and removable only in the way a Supreme Court judge is.
- Article 149 sets out his duties and powers.
- Article 150 says the Union and State accounts are kept in the form the President prescribes after consulting the CAG.
- Article 151 requires the CAG's reports on Union accounts to go to the President, who has them laid before each House of Parliament. Reports on State accounts go to the Governor and then the State Legislature.
Dr B.R. Ambedkar told the Constituent Assembly that the Auditor-General was probably the most important officer under the Constitution. The comparison with the Controller General of Accounts, who keeps the accounts rather than audits them, is explained in our article on the Centre's accounts to September.
Once a report is laid, the sequence is predictable:
- The PAC chooses the most important audit paragraphs from the report.
- It calls the secretary of the ministry concerned and the CAG's officers to give evidence.
- It issues a report with recommendations: fix responsibility, recover the money, or change the rule.
- The ministry sends an Action Taken Note, and the PAC reports on that in an Action Taken Report.
The CAG sits beside the committee throughout, which is why textbooks call him the PAC's "friend, philosopher and guide".
The Speaker's worry about 20-year-old objections is a worry about step four. A recommendation that nobody acts on is just a record. That is exactly why Mr Venugopal wants a debate on a PAC report and its follow-up in every session: the floor of the House is the only place where unfinished business can be put to a minister in public.
The limits of a post-mortem
The PAC is called a post-mortem committee because it works after the money has been spent. That brings three built-in limits.
- It cannot stop spending. It reports and recommends. It cannot cancel a contract or reverse a payment.
- It is advisory. The government is not bound to accept its recommendations, though ignoring a unanimous PAC report is politically costly.
- It does not question policy. The PAC asks whether spending was authorised and regular, whether it stayed within the scope of the demand, and whether there was waste, loss or extravagance. Whether a scheme is a good idea is a matter for the House and the ministry.
One link in the chain deserves a special mention. If a ministry spends more than Parliament granted, the excess must be regularised under Article 115 through a demand for excess grants. By convention that demand reaches the House only after the PAC has examined the overspending, which is why the Monsoon Session voted an excess grant for 2022–23 in 2026. The lag between spending and scrutiny is the Speaker's point in a single example.
A frequent trap: the Public Accounts Committee is not the same thing as the Public Account of India under Article 266(2). The Public Account holds money the government receives as banker, such as provident funds and small savings. The committee scrutinises how the government spends money granted from the Consolidated Fund.
Three watchdogs, one table
India has three financial committees, and CDS papers like to mix them up.
| Public Accounts Committee | Estimates Committee | Committee on Public Undertakings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Members | 22 (15 LS + 7 RS) | 30, all from Lok Sabha | 22 (15 LS + 7 RS) |
| Set up | 1921 | 1950, on John Mathai's recommendation | 1964, on the Krishna Menon Committee's recommendation |
| Focus | Audited accounts: was the money spent as sanctioned? | The estimates: can the same policy be carried out more economically? | Reports and accounts of public sector undertakings |
| When | After spending | Before and during | After spending |
| Nickname | Post-mortem | "Continuous economy committee" | PSU watchdog |
Alongside them sit the Department-related Standing Committees, 24 in number, each with 31 members. They examine demands for grants and Bills for particular ministries, as our note on the Standing Committee report on the NTA shows. Our study note on the financial committees of Parliament sets all four side by side.
Why a national conference of State and UT committees
Every State and Union Territory legislature has its own PAC, and the CAG audits the States as well. State PACs have no formal link with Parliament's committee, so the practice of a national conference matters. It lets a committee in one State learn how another cleared its backlog, handled a flagship scheme audit, or secured action from reluctant departments. The Speaker's call for "healthy competition among States" in strengthening accountability is a polite way of saying that standards differ.
The timing is relevant too. The Centre's own accounts show spending running at roughly 47.7% of the Budget Estimate after six months, and the government has said it wants capital spending to carry growth. The more money flows through works and schemes, the more the PAC's question about outcomes matters.
What to watch
- Resolutions on 4 November. The Speaker has said the conference's resolutions should guide audit follow-up. Look for any timetable for clearing old audit objections.
- Floor time for PAC reports. Whether the Venugopal proposal is taken up in the next session.
- Digital audit. How committees use analytics and AI, and whether the CAG's offices share the data.
- Centre–State and PPP schemes. Whether a shared approach to auditing these emerges.
🔑 Revision block
The news. Speaker Om Birla inaugurated the Conference of Chairpersons of PACs of Parliament and State/UT legislatures at Thiruvananthapuram (Keralam) on 3 November 2026; valedictory on 4 November. Theme: "Audit, Accountability and Good Governance: The Evolving Role of the PAC".
What was asked. Outcome-based scrutiny and site visits; time-bound closure of audit observations pending 10–20 years; use of data analytics and AI; sharing State best practices. K.C. Venugopal (PAC Chairperson): one PAC report with action taken to be discussed every session.
History. Set up 1921 after the Montagu–Chelmsford reforms; Finance Member chaired it; parliamentary committee from 1950; Rajya Sabha members from 1954–55; first Opposition chair 1967 (convention); centenary inaugurated 4 December 2021.
Structure. 22 members (15 LS + 7 RS), elected annually by STV, one-year term, ministers excluded, chair appointed by the Speaker from the Lok Sabha members.
CAG link. Articles 148–151; Article 151: audit reports go to the President (Union) or Governor (State) and are laid before the House. CAG is the PAC's "friend, philosopher and guide".
Limits. Post-mortem, advisory, cannot cancel expenditure, does not judge policy. Excess grants (Article 115) are regularised after PAC examination.
Compare. Estimates Committee: 30, all LS, 1950. COPU: 22 (15+7), 1964. DRSCs: 24, 31 members each. Do not confuse the PAC with the Public Account (Article 266(2)).
🎯 Practice MCQs
Q1. The Public Accounts Committee was first constituted in:
(a) 1911
(b) 1921
(c) 1935
(d) 1950
→ (b)
It was set up in 1921 after the Montagu–Chelmsford reforms, making it the oldest parliamentary committee. It became a parliamentary committee under the Speaker's control only after 1950.
Q2. Which of the following describes the composition of the Public Accounts Committee?
(a) 22 members, 15 from the Lok Sabha and 7 from the Rajya Sabha
(b) 30 members, all from the Lok Sabha
(c) 31 members, 21 from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha
(d) 20 members, 10 from each House
→ (a)
Option (b) is the Estimates Committee and (c) is a Department-related Standing Committee. The Committee on Public Undertakings shares the PAC's 15 + 7 pattern.
Q3. Consider the following statements about the Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee:
1. The Chairperson is appointed by the Speaker from among the Lok Sabha members of the committee.
2. Since 1967, the Chairperson has by convention been a member of the Opposition.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
→ (c)
The committee does not elect its own chair; the Speaker appoints one. Until 1966–67 the chair went to the ruling party, and since 1967 it has by convention gone to the Opposition.
Q4. Under which Article of the Constitution are the CAG's reports on Union accounts submitted to the President to be laid before each House of Parliament?
(a) Article 148
(b) Article 149
(c) Article 150
(d) Article 151
→ (d)
Article 148 creates the office, 149 gives duties and powers and 150 deals with the form of accounts. Article 151 deals with audit reports.
Q5. Which of the following financial committees of Parliament has members only from the Lok Sabha?
(a) Public Accounts Committee
(b) Estimates Committee
(c) Committee on Public Undertakings
(d) Department-related Standing Committee on Finance
→ (b)
The Estimates Committee has 30 members, all from the Lok Sabha. The PAC and COPU have 15 + 7, and the Standing Committees draw on both Houses.
Q6. Which of the following is NOT a function of the Public Accounts Committee?
(a) Examining the CAG's audit reports
(b) Examining the Appropriation Accounts
(c) Cancelling expenditure that it finds irregular
(d) Checking whether expenditure stayed within the scope of the demand
→ (c)
The PAC is a post-mortem body with advisory powers. It can recommend recovery or reform but cannot cancel or reverse spending.
Q7. The Public Accounts Committee is popularly called a "post-mortem" committee because it:
(a) Works only when a Minister has resigned
(b) Approves the Budget before the financial year begins
(c) Examines only the accounts of public sector undertakings
(d) Examines expenditure after it has been incurred
→ (d)
The PAC works on audited accounts of money already spent. The Estimates Committee, by contrast, looks at estimates and suggests economies.
Q8. The Public Account of India is described in Article 266(2). Which of the following is held in it?
(a) Provident fund and small savings money held by the government as banker
(b) Appropriations voted by Parliament for ministries
(c) Money drawn to meet unforeseen expenditure
(d) Tax revenue collected by the Centre
→ (a)
Funds the government holds as banker, such as provident funds, go to the Public Account. Tax and other receipts form the Consolidated Fund, and the Contingency Fund (Article 267) meets urgent unforeseen needs.
📋 How this gets asked (PYQ pattern)
Parliamentary committees are a steady source of CDS polity questions, and the financial committees are the most reliable among them. The pattern has three parts.
The first is numbers and composition: 22 versus 30 versus 31 members, 15 + 7, which committee is Lok Sabha-only, and who appoints the chair. Options are usually built from the other committees' figures, as in Q2 and Q5.
The second is statement-type questions on conventions and limits: the Opposition chair since 1967, ministers' exclusion, the advisory nature of recommendations, and "which is NOT a function". Q3 and Q6 follow this shape.
The third is institutional pairing: the PAC with the CAG (Articles 148–151), the Estimates Committee with economy, COPU with public undertakings, and the Public Account (Article 266) as a trap. The fresh hook this cycle is the Thiruvananthapuram conference of 3–4 November 2026, its theme and the Venugopal proposal for floor time.
Preparing for CDS? Make a one-page table of the PAC, Estimates Committee and COPU (members, year, focus, timing) and test yourself weekly. Use our notes on financial committees of Parliament and constitutional bodies for the details. Follow the daily CDS current affairs, and learn with experienced faculty in the upcoming Cavalier courses in Delhi.
Source: PIB / Lok Sabha Secretariat, "Every Rupee of Public Money Must Be Accounted For and Utilised for Its Intended Purpose: Lok Sabha Speaker" (3 November 2026) and "Lok Sabha Speaker to Inaugurate Conference of Chairpersons of Public Accounts Committees" (1 November 2026). Historical and structural facts from the Constitution of India (Articles 115, 148–151, 266–267), the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha, and the President's address at the PAC centenary (4 December 2021).
✍️ Written by Hitendra Deswal — Polity & current-affairs faculty at The Cavalier. Reviewed by the Cavalier Faculty Desk.