Keralam Assembly Hosts National Conference of Public Accounts Committee Chairpersons
The Keralam (Kerala) Legislative Assembly is hosting a two-day conference of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairpersons from 25 States on 3 and 4 November 2026 in Thiruvananthapuram.
The Lok Sabha Speaker is inaugurating the conference. About 300 public representatives, including MPs and MLAs from various States, are expected to take part.
The Assembly Speaker said this is the first time the State is hosting such a conference.
The plenary sessions will be held inside the Assembly Hall. Because the Assembly's rule book does not allow other events inside the Hall, the House passed a resolution to make an exception.
The Speaker noted that, under the constitutional scheme, the PAC examines the reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and reports to the Assembly, and said the Kerala PAC has examined and submitted the largest number of such reports.
The chairperson of Parliament's PAC and the chairperson of the State PAC are among the speakers.
Public Accounts Committee (PAC)
The Public Accounts Committee, or PAC, is a small group of legislators that checks whether the government spent public money the way the legislature allowed, and whether it spent it honestly and sensibly. It does this mainly by studying the audit reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). Parliament has a PAC, and every State Legislature has its own PAC too. It is the oldest financial committee of the Indian Parliament.
The conference in the Keralam Assembly brings together PAC chairpersons from 25 States and from Parliament. Since every PAC does the same core job of studying CAG reports, such meetings help legislatures share good practices and strengthen their watch over public money.
Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG)
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India, or CAG, is the country's top auditor. It is a constitutional post that checks the accounts of the Union government, every State government and many bodies funded by them, and reports to the legislatures on how public money was spent. In simple words, the CAG is the guardian of the public purse: the person who tells Parliament and the State Assemblies whether the government spent their money properly.
The work of every PAC, including those meeting at the Keralam Assembly, starts with the CAG's audit reports. State PACs study the CAG's reports on State accounts, which the Governor lays before the Assembly under Article 151, so the strength of a PAC depends directly on the quality and timeliness of the CAG's audit.
- Conference: PAC chairpersons from 25 States, 3 and 4 November 2026, Keralam Legislative Assembly, Thiruvananthapuram
- Inaugurated by the Lok Sabha Speaker; about 300 MPs, MLAs and other representatives expected
- First time the State is hosting such a conference
- Parliament's PAC: 22 members (15 Lok Sabha + 7 Rajya Sabha), one-year term, chair from the Opposition by convention since 1967
- PAC first set up in 1921 under the Government of India Act, 1919
- CAG reports laid before Parliament and State Legislatures under Article 151
- CAG: Articles 148 to 151; 6-year term or age 65