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Saturday, January 27, 2018

Circular 02-2018

15/1089-90, VASUNDHARA, VASUNDHARA (P.O.), Dt. GHAZIABAD (U.P), PIN-201012

Reference: AIA/Circular-02/2018                                                       Dated:  26th January 2018

To
Unit Secretaries,
Members & Spl. Invitees – NE &
Members of Women’s Committee

Dear Comrades,

Cadre Restructuring in IA&AD

As stated in Circular 01, the CAG administration has asked us to submit our proposals on various aspects on the restructuring of cadres in IA&AD.

We do firmly believe that the standing instructions of DOPT in this regard are to be honoured. This was conveyed to PD Staff when a delegation comprising of Com Tapas Bose (President), V Sreekumar & Anilkumar (Additional Secretaries General), K. Ramesh (Finance Secretary) and Basheer Ahmed (General Secretary, Madras Civil Accounts Association) in addition to the Secretary General.

We were informed that the Committee on cadre restructuring is formed with Shri V. Kurien, DG, Commercial (HQrs) as Chairman and PD(P), PD (S), AG (Audit) UK (Uttarakhand) as members, amongst others. He informed co-opting staff side members, if the DOPT instructions are as such, can be considered.

But he requested us to expedite the submissions so that report could be finalised at the earliest.

After discussing amongst those present in the meeting and also with Com. OS Sudhakaran, Secretary General, All India Audit & Accounts Officers Association (who was in New Delhi) and consulting available NE members over phone, it has been decided to co-operate with the committee without preconditions as delay would ultimately be against the interest of our own members.

The draft proposals (that were to be first discussed by the Committee set up for it on 17th Feb) are sent here-with (only soft copy). All the Units are requested to circulate it amongst the membership, invite suggestions/comments and communicate the same through e-mail to HQr by 2nd February 2018. 

Members can also submit their views directly individually or collectively to Secretary General through email.

An emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee has been convened at Chennai on 4th February 2018 along with the Committee that has been formed to discuss and finalise our proposals on restructuring of cadres in IA&AD.

All the Units, without fail, may send their comments through email by 2nd February 2018 so as to enable the NE to arrive at correct conclusions.

Forged Letter in the name of Secretary General to CAG

During the course of meeting with PD, Staff it was brought to our notice that a letter has been written by someone in the letter head of All India Audit & Accounts Association and in the name of MS Raja, Secretary General that a half naked protest would be arranged in front of CAG office on the issue of unilateral transfer. No signature of Secretary General has been affixed.

We fully empathise with the plight of those who are posted in stations other than their home states and are suffering because of non availability of unilateral transfer facility in our department. But to address their genuine grievances, nobody should have used a wrong, dishonest method of forging the letter head of All India Audit & Accounts Association, using the Secretary General’s name. We deplore it.

With greetings,

Yours fraternally


Sd/-
M. S. Raja
Secretary General
  

Paper on Cadre Restructuring in IA&AD

(Draft)

I).Introduction:

The IA&AD has a unique role and status in Governance. It is headed by the C&AG who is a Constitutional Authority. It is entrusted with the duty of ensuring Public Accountability in public spending and revenue receipts. It is an instrument of the legislature in their function of Parliamentary Control over the Finances of the Government. This means it works for, and for the benefit of, the common man. The C&AG's reports provide information to the common man about the efficiency and the propriety in revenue collection and spending by the State. The reports of the C&AG help our economy and society by suggesting and enabling improvements in financial management. This is a challenging and varied work that really benefits the nation.

II. The Institution called IA&AD:

Articles 148 to 151 of the Constitution prescribe a unique role for the C&AG of India in assisting Parliament to enforce the legislative accountability of Government Departments. The Constitution mandates the C&AG to audit both the Central and State Governments and also to compile the accounts of the State Governments. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India discharge his duties through the Indian Audit and Accounts Department.

Besides compiling the accounts, the C&AG is responsible for preparing and submitting the accounts to the President, Governors of States and Administrators of Union Territories having Legislative Assemblies. He may also give information and render assistance, related to preparation of the accounts. The accounts of the State Governments are compiled, wherever entrusted, from the subsidiary accounts submitted by treasuries and other officers of the State Governments. In addition to the compilation of accounts the department raises alerts if monies are being drawn in excess of authorization. Expenditure patterns are monitored and advised on excesses, surrenders and lapses of funds are issued to enable proper control.

India is one of the largest numbers of public sectors in the world. Within these there is a recognized need to strengthen performance, accountability and credible financial management systems. In this environment, the scale and complexity of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department’s work are extensive. There are many challenges that impact public administration and need to be taken into account by the C&AG while discharging his duties. There is a recognized need to strengthen accountability for results and improve performance within the Government. Further, the Indian civil service is hierarchical in nature and process driven, with the focus of governance more on inputs than outcomes. Government reviews have also noted shortcomings in financial management systems and the authority, independence, coverage, capability and impact of internal audit functions. Several other features distinguish Indian Audit and Accounts department working environment from that of many of its international peers:

            The extent and span of its audit work, which covers multiple levels of                                   Government and many different types of organisations across India and

            Significant diversity in language, governance and development in the                                            different states in which it works.


III) Our Human Resources:

The C&AG's office located in New Delhi is the headquarters of IAAD. During 2016-17, it was supported by 138 field offices (133 offices spread across India and 5 offices located abroad). Its personnel are its key assets as it is a knowledge based organization. ISSAI 40 prescribes that the SAI should establish policies and procedures designed to provide it with assurance that it has adequate number of competent and motivated staff to discharge its functions effectively.

In IA&AD, 33.75 per cent of the personnel are at different managerial and supervisory levels and 57.09 per cent constitute audit and accounts staff. Only 9.16 per cent (MTS) of the total strength provide support service. Of the sanctioned strength of 68,198 only 68.34 per cent staff is presently employed in the Department. During the year 2016-17, 2860 were recruited in the category of Audit & Accounts Staff. This helped in mitigating the deficiency to some extent. The officers and staff in Group 'B' & 'C' cadres are well qualified. (There are 175 doctorates, 3148 professionally qualified personnel, 5257post graduates and 26759 graduates in these cadres.)

The cadre wise man in position is given below

The mainstream cadres in IA&AD are Auditor/Accountant & Sr. Auditor/Sr. Accountant, Assistant Accounts/Audit Officers, & Audit/Accounts Officer & Sr. Audit/Accounts Officer. Stenographer, DEO, LDC and MTS are common cadres as in all Central Govt Ministries/Departments.

(a)Indian Audit & Accounts Service (IA&AS) Officers are recruited through Union Public Service Commission. The top, senior and middle management level of IAAD are manned by officers from this service. They belong to the Group A services. The present Strength is 710.

(b)Supervisory Cadres: The Gazetted supervisory cadre (Group B-Gazetted) consists of Senior Audit/ Accounts Officers, Audit/Accounts Officers and Assistant Audit/Accounts Officers. They form the critical operating management in our hierarchy. Assistant Audit / Accounts Officers are recruited either by a departmental examination or directly. Among the Gazetted supervisory cadre, Senior Audit / Accounts Officers, Audit / Accounts Officer constitutes the middle level management, the cutting edge, and function as a bridge between the IA&AS Officers and subordinate officials functioning under them. These Group B officers constitute the face of the Indian Audit & Accounts department. Their total strength is 15,730 only.

(c) Audit & Accounts Staff– Auditors/ Accountants and Senior Auditors/ Senior Accountants do the basic works relating to auditing and accounting and they are the foundation of the department. This segment along with supporting cadres such as Data Entry Operators (DEOs), Clerks constitute 57.08 per cent of our total manpower. They are recruited by the Staff Selection Commission or promoted from feeder cadres. Their Present strength is 26,605 only.

(d)Multi-Tasking Staff–All support functions in various IAAD offices are carried out by multi-tasking staff (MTS). Their present strength is 4270.

IV) The need for restructuring of cadres in the IA&AD:

A cadre review in IA & AD took place, in two stages, once in 1984 and in 1987. In both stages the cadre of AOs remained untouched. However, in the year 1992, 80% of the posts of AOs were upgraded to SAOs with the pay a scale of Rs.2200-4000. The up gradation did not bring in any new post or changes in the duties. It was an attempt to create a sense of gratification among the stagnating officers, a mere non functional up gradation. The up gradation did not take into account the extent of stagnation, resultant frustration, the changes and challenges that the officers faced, the need to reorient them for the greater achievements and challenges that the department was aiming etc. Any cadre review, while taking into consideration the acute stagnation in the cadre, would also consider the work content, the changes in the working environment, changes in the objectives, the need for motivation and how best the expertise could be put to optimum use and how to keep the morale high. It is imperative that such a review is undertaken without loss of time.

The IA &AD department employs about 15,730 Officers ( AAOs, AOs & SAOs) supported by 26,605 supporting staff. It audits the financial transactions of the Governments (which amounted to Rs.94,19,534 crore (as per table A ) in the year of 2015 -16, an increase from Rs.4,13,173 crore (as per table B) in the year 1990-91. It carries the responsibility of certifying the accounts of the Centre and the States. The value of transactions might go high during the year 2016-17 and 2017-18, but there may not be matching improvement in the staff strength considering their retiring rate during these years. The present strength is, Sr.Accounts Officer 386, Sr.Audit Officer 3182, Accounts Officer 238, Audit Officer 1216, Asst Accounts Officer 2598, Asst.Audit Officer 6691 Supervisor 676, Welfare Assistant 85, Sr.Accountant 7118, Sr.Auditor 9013, Accountant 1565, Auditor 3741 Stenos 495, Clerk 1049 Hindi Posts 300, SG.Record Keeper 42, Misc Posts 126, EDP Posts 2399, and MTS 3913. In Short there are 14311 Officers (AAO, AO  & SAO) supported by 26,050 (Clerk, DEO, Auditors/ Accountant, Sr.Auditor/Sr.Accountant, Stenos, Supervisors). The increase in the transactions would not result in an increase in the manpower deployed.

No other department, in India, carries such work load, discharging the very important public Accountability function with such thin man power. It is essential that the morale of the employees needs to be maintained at the highest level. This makes the authorities of IAAD to attend the concern of the employees and officers. It is stressed here that there is an urgent need for the restructuring for removal of the stagnation which has plagued the cadres for long.

V.Significance and Dynamism of IAAD:

Budget after budget, the Tax Net, Expenditure Area, Investment options of the Centre and States grow. India is evolving to be the Fifth biggest economy in the world. The taxation laws, taxation concepts, public spending concepts, their magnitude and the rules governing them are all constantly changing. Expanding, Diversifying, Sharing PPP model and every growing activity in the economy bring lots of cheer as well as challenges and risks of scam.


That the changing priorities of the Governments and their pattern of transaction necessitates changes in the quantum of work carried out by the department can be appreciated by the dynamism in the number of reports presented by the C&AG.


No. of reports prepared and
Recommendations
Recommendations

presented during the year
Made


accepted












2015-16
2014-15
2013-14
2015-
2014-
2013-14
2015-
2014-
2013-




16
15

16
15
14










Union
53
38
32
348
276
378
143
75
224
Government



















State and
135
124
102
1777
1540
1726
721
556
480
Union









Territory









Governments



















TOTAL
188
162
134
2125
1816
2304
864
631
704











It would be agreed that the growth in financial transactions resulted in consequent demand on the department despite the near static human resources.    

The general organisation in the Accounts and Entitlement wing (A&E) of IA&AD is similar to that of the Audit wing. Accounts work also involves greater expertise, continuous updating of knowledge, ability to handle various nature of transactions, greater judgmental balance and so on. Besides being instrumental in promoting economy, avoidance of waste, changes of rules/procedure etc. aimed at improving efficiency and in doing so save considerable amount of public funds. In the changing pattern of the working of the states and the quantum jumps the personnel of this wing need to be constantly watchful, constantly update their knowledge and be alert for the changing requirements in the accounting and entitlements front.

The Staff and employees of the IAAD are involved in the noble cause of ensuring financial propriety in public finances. There is a constant demand on them to update their knowledge and to evolve speedy but accurate audit techniques. The very credibility of the department lies in their ability to meet the challenges of the dynamic and liberalized public finances. That the C&AG continue to be a respected institution amply proves the worth of their contribution. This is very highly technical work linked with the global challenges and situations. The Employees of the IAAD have always risen up to the challenge of being a credible watchdog of the financial discipline. To establish an effective system of checks and balances, suitable tool has to be devised by the IAAD. Hence, there is a need for restructuring for removal of stagnation in their cadre and to provide comfort zones, suitable training and better powers to staff to discharge their accepted responsibilities. Non Functional Up Gradation should be introduced to these stagnated technical cadre to achieve motivation. The stagnation is acute in the cadres of Sr.Auditor, Asst.Audit officer and Sr.Audit Officer. There is an urgent need for a suitable grade system of non Functional up gradation with the higher audit responsibilities. Here, a higher responsibility means sharing of higher risks.

VI) Principles to be considered while restructuring the IAAD:

(i)Independent of the Executive: The Institution of Comptroller and Auditor General is envisaged as an agency on behalf of the legislature, to report to the appropriate legislatures, the irregularities and improprieties of the Executive in Financial matters in order to enable the legislature to exercise control over the Executive and make it accountable to the people. For achieving this objective, as would be apparent from the debate on this issue in the Constituent Assembly, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India and the staff under him need to be independent of the Executive and at a higher level. Accordingly Article 148 was finalized with Clause (3) providing the “ the salary and the other conditions of Service of Comptroller and Auditor General shall be such as may be determined by the Parliament by law” and with the clause (5) providing that “Subject to the provisions of the Constitution and of any law made by Parliament, the conditions of service of persons serving in the Indian Audit and Accounts Department shall be such as may be prescribed by rules made by the President after consultation with Comptroller and Auditor General.

Despite the fact that more than 7 decades have lapsed since the Constitution has come into effect, such a law has not been enacted nor have the rules as envisaged in the Article 148(5) been framed. Further the service conditions are being prescribed not by the President of India, but by the Government by merely extending the general rules, issued under proviso to Article 309, to the Audit Employees after consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor General, and that too without giving due weight to his recommendations. Consistently all the Comptroller and Auditors General have recommended for the Audit employees a status and salary structure on par with those in the Secretariat. Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General tendered written and oral evidence before the 7th Central Pay commission. Specific recommendations like not to create exceptional clause in order to deny Group ‘A’ status to Sr.AOs of IAAD and other recommendations were made on similar lines. But all such advices were not heeded to. The Audit employees continue to be on par with those of the “Subordinate Administrative offices”.

The Audit employees and officers have enough valid reasons to feel that the approach of the Government is a part of the policy of keeping Audit less independent and less effective. Successive Comptrollers and Auditor General have revealed in unambiguous terms that “ his staff have been kept under the mercy of the Government(Finance Ministry) for staff, accommodation, Office establishment and so on, whereas it is the Finance Ministry which comes most under the criticism of Comptroller and Auditor General, that the existence of the ‘whip hand’ that the finance Ministry holds on Comptroller and Auditor General “; " This reflects the Government’s Attitude towards Auditor General’s Office” and that the “sooner it ends the better it will be” . With the increase in Governmental activities both in magnitude, volume and extent, there should have been corresponding increase in the activity of IA&AD, but this has not happened. The Executive appears to have lost all respects for the institution. In this back drop there is a need to insist that the concept of Independent Audit be respected and practiced. Towards this the possibility of appointment of High power committee for suggesting appropriate remedial measures for the Independent Functioning, appropriate staff strength, proper independent wage Structure for the IAAD employees free from the Finance Ministry as this would enable and ensure that the Institution of Comptroller and Auditor General acts independently and effectively needs to be explored.

(ii)Develop Competency and award proper mix of Functional promotion with time bound Non functional UpGradation: The staff of the Indian Audit and Accounts department had developed high level of competency in: 1. Analysis of data to draw sound conclusions 2. Demonstrating Sound Judgment 3. Communicating effectively with others 4. Demonstrating Enthusiasm initiative and drive 5. Building and maintaining effective Team relationship 6. Builds and maintain effective client relationships 7. Planning and organizing work to deliver high quality results while meeting the dead line 8. Understanding the larger picture to discharge the public accountability mechanism. Suitable mechanism should be devised to develop the professionalism to meet the International Standards by imparting suitable training. In order to retain the talents in this segment a motivating time bound promotional policy which awards the proper mix of the functional promotion and time bound non functional up gradation would be the fitting solutions for the craving stagnated cadres in the highly professionalized department.

(iii)Ensure superiority of IAAD: Officers and subordinate staff in the Indian Audit and Accounts department, facilitate the C&AG in formulating policies relating to audit and maintenance of accounts, in creating directions to the staff in various field officers on audit and accounting matters, in devising training for various cadres in the department for up grading technical knowledge and skills, in compiling the reports, in facilitating and assisting in the Public Accounts Committee and the Committee on Public Undertakings. The variegated and onerous functions of these officers demand knowledge of widely divergent areas and constant updation. Hence the Restructuring of Indian Audit and Accounts department needs to reckon the superior functions of the employees compared to their peers in other departments, the superior skills and knowledge required, and its contributions to the economy.

iv)    Increase manpower: Being knowledge based Organization; human Resources are the key assets of Indian audit and accounts department. As per ISSAI 40 the SAI should establish policies and procedures designed to provide assurance that it has adequate number of competent and motivated staff to discharge its function effectively. However, the IA&AD is functioning with acute shortage of staff. The department had a sanctioned strength of 70000 employees. The current strength is about 46,610 only. The deficit in manpower (32.83%) is due to two major factors. (1) Recruitment of new employees has remained almost frozen for the past two decades. (2) Retirement of employees in the B & C groups without replacement. The major factor, contributing to areas of concern within the department, has been the fact that the work norms defined for Audit and Accounts has not been updated. The staff strength required for each office has to be reworked on scientific work study norms; volume of work  involved, and audit mandate and risk perception. The functions and processes of the Government Departments to be audited have undergone sweeping changes since 1984 ( bifurcation of the department into Audit and Accounts) because of factors such as the huge increase in the volume of government transactions, budgeted revenue and expenditure, automation of certain government functions, increased role of Public Private Partnership (PPP) , increase in regulatory functions, e- governance, changes in public funding of major programmes and in numerous schemes, etc. In the case of Accounts & Entitlements (A&E) Offices, the working environment has changed from manual accounting system to an IT based system. Considering the huge increase in the volume of works in the changed scenario, there is an urgent need to reassess the sanctioned strength and the adequacy of the existing strength.

v)    Earlier restructuring of IAAD and the approach of the subsequent pay commissions: Though the restructuring was affected only in two cadres’ viz. Auditors and Section officers all other cadres per force had to exercise option to be in the parent office (ie A&E Office) or in the newly created office – as far as the offices of Accountants General were concerned. 80% of the posts in the cadre of Auditor (330-560) was functionally upgraded and granted the pay scale of 425-800, at par with Assistants in CSS and redesignated as Senior Auditor. The cadre Section
vi)                Officer (500-900) was similarly restructured into Section officer (20%) and Assistant Audit Officer (80%) with pay of 650-1040 (Gazetted). The higher, functional scales were available only in the newly created offices of Accountants General (Audit) and all separate audit offices. The pay scale in the offices of Accountants General (A&E) continued at 330-560 for (newly designated) Accountants with 20% post in Selection Grade of Rs. 425-700 and 500-900 for Section Officers. The Fourth CPC recommended the same pay scale for Senior Auditors and Assistants in CSS ie 1400-2600 on the basis of merits. It further recommended restoration of the ‘broad parity that existed between audit and accounts’. Govt of India accepted this recommendation vide OM dated 12th June 1987 extended the same pay scale for Accounts staff (of IA&AD and organised Accounts) with effect from 0.1.04.1987 ie 1400-2600 for Senior Accountants (80%) and 1640-2900 for Assistant Accounts Officers.

The main thrust of the restructuring of cadres of 1984 was that it gave a much sought after up gradation of pay scale as well as a movement to the cadres which otherwise were stagnating at the entry stage itself. Even today, the same pattern is continued in IA&AD. Though the pay scale of Assistants is continuously being raised each time after the audit and accounts staff attains parity is a pernicious act that demoralizes the entirety of IA&AD personnel. The auditor/accountant onwards expect that the cadre restructuring would address one of basic issues i.e. parity with Assistants in CSS (maintaining vertical relativity) along with opening up chances for further career advancements. It has to be pointed out that Sixth Pay Commission’s recommendations have not been fully implemented. If implemented Auditors & Accountants (Pre-revised Pay Scale 4500-7000) should have been in PB-2 with Grade Pay of Rs.4200 & Senior Auditors/Sr. Accountant in PB-2 with Grade Pay of Rs 4600 because the Government had granted PB2 with Grade Pay of Rs.4600 to Assistants of Central Secretariat – parity which had been recommended by the VI Central Pay Commission. Taking into account the assignment of PB-3 with Grade Pay of Rs.5400 to the Divisional Accountant Officer, the AO should have been placed in PB-3 Grade Pay 5400. 7th CPC has preferred not to touch the above issues except to grant of GP 5400 to AAOs on completion of 4 years. The fact remains that these have only been adhoc measures bereft of any scientific study of the relative workloads and skill requirement.

vi) Up Gradation of AAO on completion of 4 years of Service: In case of Assistant Audit Officers/ Assistant Accounts Officers of Indian Audit & Accounts Department, who are in Grade Pay of Rs 4800, the recommendations made by the7th CPC with regard to “upgrading on completion of four years’ service to Grade Pay of 5400 (PB-2), viz., Pay level 9, in the pay matrix” has been approved by the Cabinet. However, in Gazette Notification, it was mentioned that the matter regarding Defence Accounts Department and Railway Accounts Department would be referred to the Secretary, DOPT for examination. Unfortunately, despite Cabinet’s approval, the recommended pay scales for the Assistant Audit Officers/ Assistant Accounts Officers of IA&AD & Organised Accounts Department as approved by the Cabinet have not yet been implemented. Hence, it is very essential to consider for conferring the approved pay fixation benefits to the AAOs, by upgrading their Grade Pay to Rs 5400 (PB- 2) in pre revised pay scale on completion of 4 years of service as AAO and thereafter fixing the pay under the new Pay level - 9 in the pay matrix as recommended by the 7th CPC.

vii) Justification for Group ‘A’ status to the SAOs. The Honourable High Court of Delhi, in its order dated 17.09.2013 (W.P.(C) 2698 / 2013) ruled that the classification of Senior Audit / Accounts Officers as group A officers was mandated under the applicable rules. The judgement has not been implemented by the Government of India. The GOI has, instead, appealed before the Honourable Supreme Court of India. In order to boost the morale of the SAOs, it is imperative to grant them Group ‘A’ status with the time bound promotions as available to Group ‘A’ Cadre.


VII)  Proposal:

In the light of complexities that have developed in Government functioning, the demands on our department with respect to quality and quantity of work has enormously increased. The institution has emerged as most respected constitutional institution in the public domain. This has become possible, only because of the unrelenting efforts of the employees, especially AAOs/AOs/SAOs, and other staffs who carry out their tasks without fear or favour and with utmost integrity. Unfortunately these Group ‘B’ Officers have very few opportunities for their future advancement and often stagnate in the same post for nearly 20 years. Considering the role played by these Officers in the audit process, adequate promotional avenues for career advancement have necessarily to be created to enhance their sense of commitment.

The induction to the cadre of IA & AS cannot be considered as promotion as only 33.33% of that cadre strength is earmarked for induction and that too is fraught with too many restrictions. Therefore there is an immediate need for cadre review to address these issues. Presently, the complexities, in the preparation of Finance Accounts and Appropriation Accounts, and their audit, have enormously increased. Maintenance of accounts in IT environment, likely implementation of new list of classifications and change in the format of maintenance of accounts etc. demand expertise and improved technicalities. Already the Department has introduced examinations and training programmes to prepare the officers for the new challenges. Today the C&AG is not merely an Auditor but also the custodian, and watchdog of Financial Management and Public Administration. Audit Reports, on various aspects of policies and programmes of the Governments, do reflect the new challenges which are ably handled by the AAO/AO/SAO.

There is bottleneck prevailing in two cadres in the IAAD's structure. First at the Sr.Auditor Level. Pay Commission strongly opined that the person who clears the written qualifying examination only are eligible for higher functional cadres. But in practice, in IAAD higher volume of transactions and work are assigned to those persons who have experience and got expertise due to their longevity of service. This should be suitably compensated. Hence introduction of non functional up-gradation must be seen as a proper solution to restructure this cadre. Another bottle neck is at the level of Sr.Audit officer. This is due to restrictions on the induction in to IAAS cadre. The Sr.AO is the cutting edge cadre and backbone of this department. By introducing the non functional up gradation in these cadres, these expertise talents would be retained in the department itself. Keeping all these aspects the following suggestions are made for cadre restructure of IAAD:

Each Group “C” or Group “B” personnel from the entry level should be entitled to five promotions in the entire career – the one who passes departmental promotional examinations getting promotions faster and probably, more number of promotions. For e.g., one recruited as MTS should during his career spanning for 30 years (presuming that he/she entered the Department at the age of 30) should get promotions to DEO, Auditor, Sr.Auditor, and an Auditor getting promotions to SA, two non Functional Up gradation. Employee who have to clear both the written examinations are eligible for posts carrying higher grade as AAO, Non Functional Up Gradation, AO, Sr.AO and two non functional up gradation. These functional promotions should accrue based on seniority cum fitness. Non Functional Up Gradation should accrue based on the time bound manner. For every cadre, avenues for fast track promotion through examinations could also be considered. But such promotions shall be strictly to the next above cadre in the hierarchy.

Functional expansion must be considered urgently. Strengthening of LB audit and taking over of LB accounts should be seriously considered and acted upon. The role of Auditor should be strengthened. Functional up Gradation as Sr.Auditor and one Non functional Up Gradation to the pay Level 7 on completion of 5 years and functional promotion to the pay level 8 should be awarded. Audit of High Value of transaction with prescribe limit to be assigned to Non Functional Upgradation Sr. Auditors.


·         The field formations should come under single administrative control,            with functional separation just as in the Head Quarters.
 
·         The Auditor-Accountant separation should end, only Auditor and Sr Auditor be the nomenclature.

·         The present age restriction of 53 years for induction to IAAS shall be removed. This is the serious hurdle experienced by the Sr.AO cadre in their career progression. And this has adverse impact on the overall promotional avenues in the lower cadres

·         Recruitment at the Point of MTS, DEO, AUDITOR, ASSISTANT AUDIT OFFICER, IAAS Levels. Each of them should be guaranteed of five (05) promotions in the career – the interregnum being on 8, 7, 6, 5 & 4 year.

·         Percentage system of promotions to be the basis for the time bound Non Functional Up Gradation.

·         Post of LDC has become redundant and hence may please be abolished.

We therefore propose the following cadre structure for IA&AD:

Ø                    1. MTS – DR and through regularization of those at -1S.

Ø                    2. DEO – Direct Recruitment as well as promotion from MTS (through       examination and seniority-cum fitness promotions). Pay level 4

Ø                    3. Auditor --Direct recruitment (75%) as well as through promotions         from    DEO and MTS - through Examinations for Graduates and      seniority          for       others. Pay level 5.

4. Sr. Auditor Grade I: 100% through seniority (after passing    confirmatory exam) against the total strength of Grade I, &  II    to the Pay level 6.

Ø                    5. Sr. Auditor Grade II: Non Functional Up Gradation with the   residency        period of 5 Years. 50 % of Sr. Auditor      posts    should be         upgraded         (Non Functional Up Gradation) and placed    in the       Pay      Level 7.


Ø                    6. Asst. Audit Officer Grade I.  40% through SAS exam, 40% through         seniority cum fitness promotion of SA Gr II and 20% through Direct          Recruitment. Pay Level 8
                       8. Asst.Audit Officer Grade II (5400) on completion of 4 years in   Asst.Audit        Officer Grade I cadre – only through seniority (Non Functional Up Gradation).    Pay Level 9

                       9. Audit Officer – 100% promotion on seniority basis against the total                               strength of Audit Officer and Sr.Audit Officer Grade I, II, and III from    AAO     after the residency period of 8 years from the date of promotion   as Assistant     Audit officer Grade I to the pay Level 10.

                       10. Sr.Audit Officer Grade I – only through 100% Seniority promotion       from    AO towards the Combined strength of Sr.Audit officer Grade I, II,     III after the      residency period of two years to the pay Level 11.

                       11. Sr.Audit Officer Grade II: Two non functional Up Gradation: 30 %        of SAO             posts should be upgraded (Non Functional Up Gradation) and placed in the pay             Level 12 with suitable designation and clearly          defined work content.

            12.       Sr.Audit Officer Grade III: Another 20% of posts should be upgraded         (Non functional Upgradation) and placed in the pay   Level 13. Filling up of upgraded posts of Level 12 & 13 to be             treated as        promotion with a        minimum residency period of 5 & 6 years   respectively.

            13.       Induction into IA&AS – on merit/seniority from Sr.Audit Officer   Grade I            to the extent of 50% without age limit. Pay Level 11

            14. The ratio of Group ‘A’ Officers (Group Officers) to Group ‘B’ officers    (Senior             Audit Officers, Audit Officers and Assistant Audit Officers) is        very high. In    knowledge based Organisation an optimum span of         control is very much   required. The existing supervisory span of    control             40 (12 to 15 audit            parties) may be reduced to 20 (5 to 7)          to increase      effectiveness of             management control by Group Officers.       Accordingly     the strength of            number of Group Officers may be          increased        proportionately.

            15. Appointment of Bilateral Committee including all the recognised         Federations for restructuring the existing cadre set with a view to   removing the stagnation in all cadres of Indian audit and Accounts   Department from       MTS to Sr.Accounts/Sr.Audit Officers.

            16.       Accord professional recognition to the Accounts/Audit Officers and             Asst.Accounts/Asst.Audit Officers of Indian Audit and Accounts       Department    treating them on par with the Chartered Accountants and      Cost     Accountant for the purpose of auditing the accounts of             commercial concerns             and for practicing as tax consultants.

            17.       Appointment of High power committee at the Government Level for         suggesting appropriate remedial measures for the Independent           Functioning,    appropriate staff strength, Proper independent wage      Structure for the         IAAD employees free from the Finance Ministry       Control as would enable and       ensure that the Institution of Comptroller    and Auditor General acts             independently and effectively.

                       ******    




TABLE A



(Amount Rs in crores)




Item
2014-15 (RE)

2015-16 (BE)
Combined revenue receipts of the centre and the states
25,88,292.00

28,43,470.00
Combined revenue expenditure of the centre and the states
29,62,919.00

31,76,210.00
Combined Capital expenditure of the centre and the states
5,40,496.00

6,23,927.00
Combined Net capital receipts of the centre and the states
8,28,098.00

9,21,250.00
Revenue of CPSUs
19,95,176.00

18,54,677.00
Total
8914981.00

94,19,534.00





TABLE B

(Amount Rs.in crores)

Item
1990-
2000-01
2010-11
2014-15
2015-16

91


(RE)
(BE)






Combined revenue receipts of the
99282
349979
1548424
2588292
2843470
centre and the states











Combined revenue expenditure of the
122950
485388
1784314
2962919
3176210
centre and the states











Combined Capital expenditure of the
30202
60960
325601
540496
623927
centre and the states











Combined Net capital receipts of the
42384
197279
250599
828098
921250
centre and the states











Revenue of CPSUs
118355


1995901.87
1854677
Total
413173
1093606
3908938
8914981
9419534