Supreme audit institutions (SAIs) can become valued partners in objectively evaluating resources, economy, and effectiveness of public expenditure to provide insight for optimising public finance management, CAG GC Murmu said on Wednesday.

       Comptroller and Auditor General of India Murmu was addressing the 57th Governing Board Meeting of the Assembly of Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI), said an official release.

       Stating that protection of the environment requires collaboration across boundaries, he assured that SAI India will strive to make ASOSAI a model organisation and encourage its members to act in a spirit of global partnership.

       In his address, Murmu said SAIs would appreciate that the economic slowdown triggered by the pandemic has forced the governments to do more with limited resources through innovations in its processes to achieve desired outcomes.

       Supreme audit institutions can become valued partners in objectively evaluating resources and economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of public expenditure thereby, providing insight for optimisation of public finance management, he added.

       The CAG informed the members that the Human Development Report of 1990 put people at the forefront of development debate by rightly pointing out People are the real wealth of nations.

       The Human Development Index, he said, provides an alternative single number by capturing progress in the dimensions of education, health and standard of living.

       He was hopeful that this index may be useful for SAIs to assess the progress in implementation of SDGs till such time data relating to targets and indicators gets stabilised, he said.

       Murmu acknowledged the "fact that as the world moves together into the 'Decade of Action', countries are accelerating the design and implementation of innovative solutions for achieving SDGs", the release said.

       With less than ten years to go, to deliver the ambitious 2030 promise, "this decade requires action to be taken by each one of us", at all levels- individual, local, regional and global, to address the challenges raised by poverty, climate change, gender inequality and SDG financing gap.

       The 56th Governing Board elected, Comptroller and Auditor General of India as the host of the 16th ASOSAI in 2024 and the Chairman of ASOSAI from 2024-2027.

       ASOSAI is one of the regional groups of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), which aims to promote understanding and cooperation among member institutions through the exchange of ideas and experiences in the field of public audit.

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