Girish Chandra Murmu takes charge as CAG

Girish Chandra Murmu on Saturday assumed charge as the new Comptroller and Auditor General of India, an official statement said. Murmu, the former Lt Governor of Jammu & Kashmir union territory, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan in the morning. At a ceremony held in the Ashoka Hall, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Murmu was sworn in as the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said in a statement.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, outgoing CAG Mehrishi, were among the dignitaries present at the ceremony, the Finance Ministry said.

Murmu, a 1985-batch IAS officer (retired) of Gujarat cadre, will have a tenure up to November 20, 2024. As a constitutional functionary, the CAG is primarily entrusted with the responsibility of auditing the accounts of the central and state governments. He succeeds Rajiv Mehrishi, who demitted office on Friday, the office of the CAG said in the statement. "After the oath ceremony, Murmu came to the CAG office, where he was welcomed by the senior officers of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department," the CAG office said.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman congratulated Murmu on taking oath as CAG. "Congratulations Shri.#GCMurmu on taking the oath to serve as the next Comptroller & Auditor General of India (C&AG). Good wishes," Sitharaman tweeted.

Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda said that the prime minister has shown respect to the tribal community by appointing Murmu to such an important position. "I express gratitude from the bottom of my heart to Prime Minister @narendramodi. He has given respect to the tribal community by appointing G C Murmu to such an important position as the CAG of India. The Prime Minister has rightfully rewarded a tribal officer," Munda said in a tweet in Hindi. Murmu is probably the first tribal to head the 160 years old institution. The first CAG of India was Edmund Drummond who held the office between 1860-62 under the British ruled India.

V Narhari Rao (1948-1954) was the first Indian to take charge as the head of the government auditing body after India gained independence, as per the CAG website. Rao was preceded by Sir Bertie Staig (1945-1948).

Murmu was the first Lt Governor of Jammu & Kashmir after the state was converted into a union territory following abrogation of Article 370 last year with effect from October 31. Before appointed as the Lt Governor of union territory J&K, he served as Joint Secretary in the Department of Expenditure, Additional Secretary in the Department of Financial Services and Department of Revenue and then Special Secretary before serving as full-fledged Secretary of the Department of Expenditure.

Before his tenure at the Centre, Murmu served on important assignments in Gujarat. He has wide experience in administrative, economic and infrastructure fields. Murmu is a post graduate in Political Science from Utkal University. He holds an MBA degree from the University of Birmingham. He was born on 21st November, 1959 in Mayurbhanj District of Orissa. He is married to Smita Murmu. They have a daughter Ruchika and son Ruhaan.

(image from PTI)