Defence Secy Shashi Kant Sharma named new CAG

New Delhi, May 21: Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma was on Tuesday named as the new Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). The 1976 Bihar cadre officer will succeed Vinod Rai, who superannuates on Wednesday after five-and-a-half-years of eventful tenure as the head of the Constitutional financial watchdog.

[Read: AAP flays govt over CAG appointment]

"The President of India has appointed Shashi Kant Sharma, IAS, as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, in terms of Article 148 (1) of the Constitution of India," the Finance Ministry said in a statement. Sharma, who holds a masters degree in political science from the University of York, will be taking over charge of the CAG from May 23, it said.

He will be administered the oath of office by President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday. Like Vinod Rai, Sharma too has served as Secretary in the Department of Financial Services.

The CAG is appointed for a term of six years or till the incumbent attains the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. CAG audit reports on 2G spectrum and coal block allocations during Rai's tenure triggered a number of controversies and raised the hackles of the government, besides bringing in the concept of presumptive loss in audit.

PTI