Q. Consider the following statements with reference to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC):
1. The members of the PAC are elected by Parliament every year.
2. It is concerned with the questions of policy of the government in the broader sense.
3. The chairman of the committee is appointed from amongst its members by the Speaker.
How many statements given above are correct?
Exp) Option b is the correct answer
Public Accounts Committee was set up first in 1921 under the provisions of the Government of India Act of 1919 and has since been in existence. The function of the committee is to examine the annual audit reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), which are laid before the Parliament by the President.
Statement 1 is correct: The members are elected by the Parliament every year from amongst its members according to the principle of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. Thus, all parties get due representation in it. The term of office of the members is one year. A minister cannot be elected as a member of the committee.
Statement 2 is incorrect: The PAC is not concerned with the questions of policy in broader sense. It conducts a postmortem examination of accounts and its recommendations are advisory and not binding on the ministries.
Statement 3 is correct: The chairman of the committee is appointed from amongst its members by the Speaker. Until 1966, the chairman of the committee belonged to the ruling party. However, since 1967, a convention has developed whereby the chairman of the committee is selected invariably from the Opposition.
