What is the CAG audit report on Assam’s NRC?

Source: This post is created based on the article “What is the CAG audit report on Assam’s NRC?” published in The Hindu on 28^th December 2022.

Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 2 – Governance – Transparency and accountability

News: CAG has flagged issues in the NRC exercise carried out in Assam.

What are issues highlighted by CAG report in Assam’s NRC?

Secure and reliable software was required for the exercise, however, software utilities were added to the core software. Haphazard development of software for the exercise, made it prone to data tampering.

Undue profits worth crores amassed by the system integrator (SI) by violating the Minimum Wages Act.

Test check of records revealed irregularities in the utilisation of funds including “excess and inadmissible payment to vendors”.

Amount of wages paid to the outsourced staff was 45.59%-64.27% less than what was approved by the NRC coordination committee.

Recommendations made by CAG report

First, penal measures to be taken against Wipro Limited for violating the provisions of the Minimum Wages Act and for paying data operators less than minimum wages.

Action against the State Coordinator of National Registration (SCNR) for “excess, irregular and inadmissible payments”.

Fixing accountability of the SCNR as the principal employer for “not ensuring compliance with the Minimum Wage Act”.