CAG chief appears before parliamentary panel

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Vinod Rai on Monday appeared before parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to discuss the audit report on the 2008 2G spectrum allocation, which led to massive financial losses to the exchequer.

Rai appeared before the 22-member PAC, chaired by Bharatiya Janta Party member Murli Manohar Joshi, at 11 a.m. in Parliament House.

The meeting is scheduled to go on through the day, with only a two-hour break.

Submitted to parliament November 16, the 96-page CAG report said the presumptive loss to exchequer through spectrum allocation to 122 licencees and 35 dual technology licencees in 2008 was Rs.1,76,645 crore.

It had indicted former communications minister Andimuthu Raja for allotting radio frequencies to new telecom players at low prices, and even ignoring Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's advice.

Meanwhile, Manmohan Singh wrote to the PAC chairman, saying that he is ready to appear before it in connection with the 2G spectrum issue.