Seminar

CAG-ICSSR Colloquium on State of Finances of Tamil Nadu and Integrated Child Development Services in Tamil Nadu

Venue: Auditorium, Anna Centenary Library, Kotturpuram, Chennai

Date: 18 September, 2026

The CAG–ICSSR Colloquium on “State Finances of Tamil Nadu” & “Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) in Tamil Nadu” concluded today at Anna Centenary Auditorium, Chennai, bringing together the audit and academic communities for evidence-based deliberations on public finance, governance and social sector delivery.

Prof. B. B. Mohanty, Council Member, ICSSR, highlighted ICSSR’s role in promoting policy-oriented social science research and emphasised the value of CAG Audit Reports as authentic empirical sources for researchers.

Shri Frederick Syiemlieh, IA&AS, PAG (Audit-I), Tamil Nadu, underscored CAG’s constitutional role in transparency and accountability and stressed assessing public expenditure through efficiency, outcomes and long-term developmental capacity.

Shri Sanjay Prasad, IRS (Retd.), presented fiscal trends of Tamil Nadu, covering revenue mobilisation, expenditure, deficits, debt, subsidies, transfers and capital expenditure, highlighting the need to balance developmental spending with fiscal sustainability.

Shri R. Thiruppathi Venkatasamy, IA&AS, PAG (Audit-II), Tamil Nadu & Puducherry, presented the audit perspective on State Finances, highlighting fiscal sustainability, financial controls, fund utilisation and accountability.

Prof. R. Srinivasan, Professor of Economics, St. Xavier’s College, examined revenue mobilisation, expenditure quality, committed expenditure, subsidies, capital expenditure and their implications for economic development and fiscal space.

On ICDS, Mrs. R. Narmada, IA&AS, Principal Director, Central Chennai, presented audit findings on beneficiary coverage, infrastructure, manpower, nutrition services, monitoring and data discrepancies, while Prof. Vidya Mahambare, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai, highlighted the importance of early childhood development, adequate human resources, quality service delivery and investment in child development as investment in human capital.

Shri Sourav Rames, IA&AS, Dy. Accountant General, introduced the CAG–ICSSR Research Article Competition, encouraging young researchers to undertake evidence-based research using CAG reports.

The Colloquium concluded with an interactive Q&A session, followed by the rendition of the National Song and National Anthem. The deliberations reinforced the importance of connecting public audit with academic research for informed policy and governance.

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