President Kovind appoints former J&K Lieutenant Governor GC Murmu as next CAG

On Thursday, President Ram Nath Kovind appointed senior bureaucrat Girish Chandra Murmu as the next Comptroller and Auditor General of India. He will assume charge of his office when the current CAG Rajiv Mehrishi completes his term later this week. The President has exercised the power vested in him by clause (1) of Article 148 of the Constitution. 

Murmu was appointed as the first Lieutenant Governor of the newly formed Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir on October 31, 2019. BJP leader and former Union Minister Manoj Sinha will take oath as the new J&K LG at 12.30 pm on Friday. The event is expected to be attended by MoS PMO Dr. Jitendra Singh. 

Read: J&K L-G GC Murmu Submits Resignation To President Kovind After 9 Months Of Service

Career profile

Born in 1959, Murmu obtained an MA degree from Utkal University and also holds an MBA degree from the University of Birmingham. A 1985-batch IAS officer from Gujarat cadre, he has served as the Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the latter was the Chief Minister of Gujarat.

In 2014, Murmu was posted in the Ministry of Finance as a joint secretary in the expenditure department. As the LG of Jammu and Kashmir, he oversaw a challenging period following the abrogation of Article 370 and the restrictions imposed in the Union Territory.

Read: Lieutenant General GC Murmu Launches Skill Development Project In Jammu

Responsibility of CAG

While the CAG has a 6-year tenure, he has to vacate the office on attaining the age of 65 years. As per the Constitution, the CAG shall not be eligible for further office either under the Centre or any state government after he has ceased to hold office. One of his main responsibilities is to audit all the expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India, each state government and each Union Territory. Moreover, he has to ascertain whether the money shown in the accounts as having been disbursed was legally available for the purpose to which it has been charged. 

Read: J&K To Organize Its First Global Investment Summit, LG Murmu Announces

(Image credits: PTI)