 bill no 17 of  2018 the constitution (amendment) bill, 2018 byshri rajeev satav, mp a billfurther to amend the constitution of indiabe it enacted by parliament in the sixty-ninth year of the republic as follows:—short title1  (1) this act may be called the constitution (amendment) act, 20182 in article 148 of the constitution,—(b) after clause (1), the following clauses shall be inserted, namely:— ''(1a) the selection committee shall consist of— (a) the prime minister—chairperson; (b) the union minister of finance—member;5(c) the leader of opposition or leader of the single largest party in opposition, as the case may be, in the house of the people—member;(d) the leader of opposition or leader of the single largest party in opposition, as the case may be, in the council of states—member;10(e) one eminent person, having experience of at least twenty years in the field of anti-corruption policy, public administration, vigilance, policy making, finance including insurance and banking, law and management or in such other matter as the chairperson and members of the selection committee deem appropriate, to be nominated by the president—member1520(1b) the selection committee shall, for the purpose of selecting the comptroller and auditor-general of india and for preparing a panel of persons to be considered for appointment as such, constitute a search committee consisting of at least five persons of standing and having special knowledge and expertise in the matters relating to public administration, vigilance, policy making, law and management or in any other matter which, in the opinion of the selection committee, may be useful in making the selection of the comptroller and auditor-general of india:provided that not less than two members of the search committee shall be from amongst the persons belonging to the scheduled castes, the scheduled tribes, the other backward classes, the minorities or women:provided further that the selection committee may also consider any person other than the persons recommended by the search committee25(1c) the selection committee shall regulate its own procedure in a transparent manner for selecting the comptroller and auditor-general of india30(1d) the term of the search committee referred to in clause (1b), the salary and allowances payable to its members and the manner of selection of panel of names shall be such as may be prescribed by the selection committee'' statement of objects  and  reasonsthe framework of the constitution has established the office of comptroller and auditor-general (cag) who is entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring transparency and accountability in government finances and policiesthe genesis on the importance of cag can be ascertained from the observation made by dr br ambedkar in the constituent assembly on may 30, 1949 accordingly to dr ambedkar, this officer was ''probably the most important officer in the constitution of india'' because he is the one man who is going to see that the expenses voted by parliament are not exceeded or varied ''if this functionary is to carry out the duties—and his duties, i submit, are far more important than the duties even of the judiciaryi personally feel that he ought to have far greater independence than the judiciary itself''without exception, every member of the constituent assembly who spoke on the articles relating to the cag, including shri tt krishnamachari, pandit hirday nath kunzru, shri kt shah and shri rk sidhva—fully endorsed dr ambedkar's sentiments the primary objective of the assembly appeared to be to cloth the cag with such powers that the executive would in no circumstances be able to weaken his independence and objectivity as a result, the first amendment moved that day was to change the nomenclature of the auditor- general to comptroller and auditor-general, because as shri tt krishnamachari said, the function of the auditor general is not merely to audit but to have a control over the expenses of government the nomenclature, he said, should be in consonance with the duties that are entrusted to him by the constitutionthe absence of any proper crafted procedure and independent mechanism for appointment to such crucial post under the constitution hampers its status and authority a change in the selection procedure for the appointment of such constitutional authorities are necessary it would add prestige to the post, if the people heading it are chosen through a procedure in which the president has the benefit of getting a recommendation from a committee shall will reflect a bipartisan consensus as there is no separate law nor any prescribed procedure, in the scheme of things currently in force, these appointments are made by the president on the advice of the prime ministerit would be in the fitness of things to incorporate a transparent procedure in respect of the appointment of such constitutional authorities, where the credibility and independence of the authority is of paramount importance in order to nurture and strengthen the confidence of the public, a change in the selection procedure for the appointment is necessary keeping in view the changed political scenario in the country with its multiparty focus a broad-based committee will greatly add to the perceived sense of impartiality, neutrality and credibility thereby further strengthening the faith of the public in the institutional framework of such authoritieshence this billnew delhi;rajeev satavdecember 7, 2017 financial memorandumclause 2 of the bill provides for setting up of a search committee to shortlist prospective candidates to the post of comptroller and auditor-general of india the bill, therefore, if enacted, will involve expenditure from the consolidated fund of india it is likely to involve a recurring expenditure of about rupees fifteen lakh per annum from the consolidated fund of indiaa non-recurring expenditure of about rupees ten lakh per annum is also likely to be involved annexure extract from the constitution of india148 (1) there shall be a comptroller and auditor-general of  india who shall be appointed by the president by warrant under his hand and seal and shall only be removed from office in like manner and on the like grounds as a judge of the supreme courtcomptroller and auditor- general of india lok sabha———— a bill further to amend the constitution of india————(shri rajeev satav, mp)gmgipmrnd—3642ls(s3)—22-01-2018