The Public Accounts Committee is described as the 'watchdog of public expenditure'. Assess its effectiveness in light of recent instances of non-cooperation by State executives.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is set up under Rules 308–309 of the Lok Sabha Rules [3]. It examines CAG reports and Appropriation Accounts to check that money was spent within the grants Parliament voted [2]. In October 2026, the Chief Secretaries of six States ignored its summons on irregularities in SC scholarships [1]. The episode shows that the watchdog can expose problems but cannot force anyone to answer.

Strengths: why it remains the watchdog

• Detailed audit scrutiny: it examines excess spending, losses, nugatory expenditure and financial irregularities [2].
• Cross-party credibility: members are elected by proportional representation (single transferable vote), ministers are excluded, and the chair is currently an opposition MP, K.C. Venugopal [2].
• Field-level probing: its Jaipur study visit (September 2026) found delays in onboarding States on the National Scholarship Portal (NSP), Centre–State coordination gaps and fund-flow problems [1].

Limits exposed by State non-cooperation

• No power to compel: the PAC can only allege a breach of privilege. Whether to act is for the Speaker and the Committee of Privileges [3]. UP, Karnataka, Punjab, Odisha, Bihar and MP stayed away without seeking exemption [1].
• Federal grey zone: the Post-Matric Scholarship is funded 60:40 by the Centre and States [6]. The States' 40% answers to their own legislatures, so the Union's authority over State officers is unsettled.
• After-the-fact review: the PAC acts once money is spent. Meanwhile, 61.71 lakh SC students received ₹7,210.80 crore by November 2025 [5], and the Central share is paid only after the State pays its share and uploads verified NSP data [6].
• Advisory output: its recommendations do not bind the executive. A long privilege fight would not release a single scholarship.

Way forward

• Fresh summons with a clear date and a way to object in writing, before any privilege case.
• Question the Union Department of Social Justice, which releases funds and answers to Parliament directly [5].
• Ask the CAG for a performance audit across States. This would give checked numbers from many States, not one visit.
• Joint reviews with State PACs for centrally sponsored schemes.
• Release part of the Central share for students already verified, so one slow step does not hold back every payment.

The PAC is effective at finding and exposing problems, but weak at making the executive comply. That gap matters more now that the Centre's commitment to the scheme has risen almost fourfold [4]. A shared Centre–State accountability system, in which the States cooperate rather than resist, would protect both parliamentary control of public money and SDG-4 access to education for SC youth.