Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge re-appointed PAC Chairman

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge has been re-appointed chairman of the 22-member Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament for its fresh term starting today.nnA majority of the members of this parliamentary panel, which is headed by an opposition leader, are from the ruling NDA. Kharge, an MP from Gulbarga (Karnataka), is the leader of Congress party in Lok Sabha.nnIt is the oldest parliamentary committee that examines the accounts showing the appropriation of sums granted by Parliament for expenditure of Government of India and such other accounts of autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies.nnIn the past, the PAC has been chaired by eminent Parliamentarians like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Jyotirmoy Basu, PV Narasimha Rao and R Venkataraman.nnAmong other key panels, Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan has also re-appointed veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi as Chaiman of the Parliamentary Committee on Estimates. Another veteran BJP leader Shanta Kumar has been renamed Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Public Undertakings respectively.nnThe PAC and the Public Undertakings Committee have 22 members each — 15 from Lok Sabha and 7 from Rajya Sabha. The committee on estimates has 30 members, all from Lok Sabha.nnAll the three financial committees will have fresh one-year tenures, starting today.nnThe panel on estimates, which is also called the ‘continuous economy committee’, suggests changes in policy or administrative framework to bring efficiency in expenditure.nnThe panel on public undertakings examines the reports and accounts of PSUs and also the CAG audit reports on public sector enterprises. It also ascertains whether PSUs are being managed as per sound business and commercial principles and practices.nnSource: Press Trust of India