2013 Q. 51 Set A
Polity
Parliament

:

The Parliamentary Committee on Public Accounts

  1. consists of not more than 25 Members of the Lok Sabha
  2. scrutinizes appropriation and finance accounts of the Government
  3. examines the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India

Smart Elimination

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is directly linked to the public accounts of India — meaning how public money is authorized, spent, and audited. Therefore statements 2 and 3 is correct

The number of members in PAC is a standard fact: 22 (15+7). Statement 1 says 'not more than 25' which is numerically incorrect/imprecise compared to the fixed number.
Eliminating 1 leaves Option B or C. Since scrutinizing CAG reports is its main job, 3 must be true.

Potential Trap

Statement 1 mentions 'not more than 25 members'. The actual strength is 22.

Answer Key & Explanation

Answer: B

The correct answer is Option B.

Statement 1 is Incorrect: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) consists of 22 members (not 25). 15 are from the Lok Sabha and 7 from the Rajya Sabha.

Statement 2 is Correct: The primary function of the PAC is to examine the Appropriation Accounts (comparing actual expenditure with sanctioned grants) and the Finance Accounts of the Union Government.

Statement 3 is Correct: The PAC examines the audit reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India. The CAG acts as a 'friend, philosopher, and guide' to the committee.

Value Addition

  • Chairman: By convention, the Chairman of the PAC is appointed from the Opposition party (since 1967).
  • Term: The term of members is one year.

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Difficulty Assessment
medium

Foundational question based on core concepts.

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7 / 10
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