A group of 20 Officer Trainees of Indian Audit and Account Service including 2 Officer Trainees from Royal Audit Authority of Bhutan called on the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan today (February 19, 2014).

Addressing the Officer Trainees, the President stated that they have joined a department whose history goes back to more than 150 years. In 1857, the General Department of Accounts was created and many decades later, the Department has grown and strengthened its position in the governance framework in the country.

The President said that in a system of representative democracy, institutions of Government and its public service exist to serve the interests of the public. In the division of powers under our Constitution, Parliament has the mandate to legislate and hold the Executive, which is the implementing agency for policies and programmes, accountable for their actions. The CAG provides a critical link between the Executive, on the one hand, and the Parliament and the people on the other. It subjects the operations of the Executive to regular, independent appraisal and review, thereby providing credibility to government operations. He told the probationers that their organization is the Government’s conscious keeper and their job is to serve as the watchdog of the Government. The officers of Indian Audit and Accounts Service can make substantial contribution in better management of money and finances, he said.

The Officer Trainees are presently undergoing 92 weeks professional training at National Academy of Audit and Accounts, Shimla.