Technical Guidance and Supervision
Also called: TGS · Topic: Constitutional Bodies: UPSC, CAG, Finance Commission and Others · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Technical Guidance and Supervision (TGS) is an arrangement under which the CAG advises on and oversees the audit of panchayats and municipalities. Articles 243J and 243Z leave local-body audit to state law. Usually a state Local Fund Audit department does this audit. After the 11th Finance Commission, the CAG was given a supervising role through an entrustment under s. 20 of the CAG (DPC) Act 1971. TGS helps improve the quality of local-body audit without the CAG doing all of it itself.
Example
A state's local fund auditors audit village panchayats. Under TGS, the CAG guides their methods and supervises their work. Later Finance Commissions tied grants to local bodies to audited accounts, which made good audit more important.
Don't confuse with
- Direct CAG audit: under s. 13 of the 1971 Act, the CAG itself audits Union and state accounts. Under TGS, it only guides and supervises an audit done by state auditors.