♦ President Droupadi Murmu appointed K Sanjay Murthy as the new Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India on 18 November 2024.

♦ He is an IAS officer of the 1989 batch, belonging to the Andhra Pradesh cadre. Currently, he is serving as the Secretary of the Department of Higher Education in the Ministry of Education.

♦ Murthy will replace Girish Chandra Murmu, who was appointed as the CAG in August 2020. 

♦ The Comptroller and Auditor General of India is empowered to audit all union and state government departments, including railways, defence, India post, and telecommunications.

♦ Moreover, the CAG can audit over 1500 public commercial enterprises, over 400 non-commercial autonomous bodies, various bodies and authorities “substantially financed” from union government bodies and local bodies, Panchayati raj institutions.

♦ The CAG is empowered through Article 149 of the Constitution, called the “CAG’s Duties, Powers and Conditions Act in 1971.”