Jawahar Thakur assumed the Charge as the Controller General of Accounts

Jawahar Thakur, a 1979-batch Indian Civil Accounts Service officer took over as the new Controller General of Accounts (CGA) of India, the post earlier held by C.R. Sundaramurti. Prior to his appointment as the CGA,  Thakur was the Principal Chief Controller of Accounts in the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) under the Department of Revenue in the Finance Ministry.

Thakur, a Post Graduate and a Law Graduate from Delhi University, also holds a M.Sc. degree in Public Economic Management from University of Birmingham, U.K. and Diploma in Public Financial Management from the University of Strathclyde, UK.

He has extensive experience in the areas of Public Financial Management and has worked in diverse capacities in the Ministries of Earth Sciences, Commerce, Human Resource Development, Science & Technology, Labour, Health, Home Affairs and Finance. He is known for his initiatives in the area of development of an effective financial management information system.

What is CGA and what are its functions?

Controller General of Accounts is the principal Accounts Adviser to the Government of India and it exercises the powers of the President under Article 150 of the constitution for prescribing the forms of Accounts of the Union and State Governments on the advice of the Comptroller & Auditor General of India.

The major functions of CGA includes; establishing and maintaining a technically sound management accounting system for the government. Besides, it also prepares a critical analysis of expenditures, revenues, borrowings and the deficit for the Finance Minister every month. The CGA is also responsible for preparing annual Appropriation Accounts and Union Finance Accounts for presentation to the parliament.