CAG to Audit Indian Railways, Reform Cadres for Enhanced Financial Oversight

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India is poised to launch a comprehensive audit of Indian Railways' multi-modal transport and logistics strategies, concentrating on the National Rail Plan (NRP) 2030 and the PM Gati Shakti initiative. This audit, slated for a 2026 Parliament review, seeks to furnish actionable insights aimed at optimizing India's logistics efficiency and efficacy.

The extensive review will scrutinize initiatives like the Gati Shakti Cargo Terminal (GCT) policy and infrastructure development in multimodal logistics, assessing the surrounding regulatory and legal frameworks, logistics operations, as well as the integration of digitization and international best practices within the sector. The audit span includes nine Railway Zones, three Ministries, logistics-centric Railway PSUs, and crucial Origin-Destination (O-D) freight pathways, with IIM Mumbai engaged as a Knowledge Partner to bolster the audit’s analytical framework.

In parallel, a significant reform within the Indian Audit and Accounts Department (IA&AD) has been greenlit by CAG K Sanjay Murthy, establishing two specialized cadres: the Central Revenue Audit (CRA) Cadre and the Central Expenditure Audit (CEA) Cadre, effective from 2026. These reforms, aimed at reducing administrative fragmentation and enhancing auditing specialization, will consolidate professionals into focused domains of revenue and expenditure auditing, promising improved insights and oversight on government finances. (ANI)