With reference to Public Accounts Committee, which of the following statements is/are correct ? 1. Public Accounts Committee submits its report to the Lok Sabha. 2. Public Accounts Committee consists of 15 members from Rajya Sabha. Select the correct answer from the code given below :
- (a)Both 1 and 2
- (b)Only 2
- (c)Neither 1 nor 2
- (d)Only 1
Correct — D, Only 1. Statement 1 is right: the Public Accounts Committee is a committee of Parliament that examines the audit reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General after they are laid before the House, and it presents its reports back to the House — its chairperson is appointed by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and its reports are presented in the Lok Sabha. Statement 2 is wrong, and wrong in a very specific way: the PAC has not more than twenty-two members, of whom fifteen are elected by the Lok Sabha and not more than seven by the Rajya Sabha. The figure fifteen is real — it is simply the Lok Sabha's share, and the question has handed it to the wrong House. The Rajya Sabha contributes seven. With only statement 1 surviving, the answer is Only 1.
- (a)Both 1 and 2 — The most-marked wrong option, because statement 1 is true and 'fifteen' is a number candidates genuinely associate with the PAC. But fifteen is the Lok Sabha quota; the Rajya Sabha sends not more than seven, making a total of twenty-two.
- (b)Only 2 — Exactly backwards. It rejects the true statement about the committee reporting to the Lok Sabha and accepts the one that misplaces fifteen members in the Rajya Sabha.
- (c)Neither 1 nor 2 — This denies statement 1, which is correct — the PAC is chaired by a nominee of the Lok Sabha Speaker and lays its reports before the House.
The Public Accounts Committee is the senior of Parliament's three financial committees. Set up in 1921 under the Government of India Act, 1919, it has not more than twenty-two members — fifteen elected by the Lok Sabha and not more than seven by the Rajya Sabha — chosen every year by proportional representation through the single transferable vote, for a term of one year. A minister cannot be elected to it. Its core task is a post-mortem of money already spent: it examines the CAG's audit reports on the Appropriation Accounts and Finance Accounts once they are laid in Parliament, and reports its findings back to the House. Its recommendations carry great persuasive weight but are advisory, not binding.
This is UPPSC's favourite composition trick: keep a number that genuinely belongs to the topic and attach it to the wrong House. Fifteen is a PAC number — it is just the Lok Sabha's fifteen. The way to immunise yourself is to store the split as a single package, '15 + 7 = 22', together with its contrast: the Estimates Committee has thirty members and is drawn entirely from the Lok Sabha, with no Rajya Sabha representation at all, which is why it is the largest committee of Parliament. The Committee on Public Undertakings mirrors the PAC at 15 + 7 = 22.
- The PAC has not more than 22 members: 15 elected by the Lok Sabha and not more than 7 by the Rajya Sabha, for a term of one year
- Members are elected annually by proportional representation through the single transferable vote; a minister cannot be a member of the committee
- The chairperson is appointed by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, and since 1967 the post has by convention gone to a member of the Opposition
- The committee's primary function is to examine the audit report of the Comptroller and Auditor General after it is laid in Parliament — which is why the CAG is described as the PAC's friend, philosopher and guide
- The Estimates Committee has 30 members, all from the Lok Sabha, making it the largest parliamentary committee; the Committee on Public Undertakings, like the PAC, has 22 (15 + 7)
Statement 2 fails because 15 is the Lok Sabha's share of the PAC, not the Rajya Sabha's — the Rajya Sabha sends 7. Answer (d), Only 1.
- Attaching the Lok Sabha's figure of 15 to the Rajya Sabha — the Rajya Sabha's share of the PAC is 7
- Confusing the PAC with the Estimates Committee, which is larger (30) and wholly Lok Sabha
- Believing that the PAC audits the accounts itself — it examines the CAG's audit, and its recommendations are advisory, not binding
UPPSC tests the arithmetic of composition and which House a committee answers to; UPSC prefers function and relationships — what the PAC scrutinises, how it depends on the CAG, and which committee is the largest.
Consider the following statements: 1. While members of the Rajya Sabha are associated with Committees on Public Accounts and Public Undertakings, Members of Committee on Estimates are drawn entirely from Lok Sabha. 2. The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs works under the overall direction of the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs. 3. The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs nominates members of Parliament on Committees, Councils, Boards and Commissions set up by the Government of India in the various ministries. Which of these statements are correct?
- (a) 1 and 2
- (b) 2 and 3
- (c) 1 and 3
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer(d) 1, 2 and 3
The same composition point, stated correctly. UPSC's statement 1 says Rajya Sabha members are associated with the Public Accounts and Public Undertakings committees while the Estimates Committee is drawn entirely from the Lok Sabha — which is exactly the fact UPPSC 2025 inverted by putting fifteen members in the Rajya Sabha.
Which one of the following is the largest Committee of the Parliament?
- (a) The Committee on Public Accounts
- (b) The Committee on Estimates
- (c) The Committee on Public Undertakings
- (d) The Committee on Petitions
Answer(b) The Committee on Estimates
Tests the same set of numbers from the other side: the Estimates Committee's 30 all-Lok-Sabha members make it the largest committee, against 22 each for the PAC and the Committee on Public Undertakings.
The Public Accounts Committee of Indian Parliament scrutinizes the
- (a) Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General
- (b) Consolidated Fund of India
- (c) Public Account of India
- (d) Contingency Fund of India
Answer(a) Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General
The function half of the same topic — the PAC scrutinises the CAG's report. Read with 2025's composition question, the two together give you the committee's who and what.
Which is the largest Committee of the Indian Parliament?
- (a) Public Account Committee
- (b) Estimates Committee
- (c) Committee on Public Undertakings
- (d) Committee on Petitions
Answer(b) Estimates Committee
The comparison that defeats the 2025 trap: the Estimates Committee, at 30 all-Lok-Sabha members, is the largest committee, while the PAC's 22 split 15 Lok Sabha and 7 Rajya Sabha.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Estimates Committee of Parliament consists of
- (a)22 members — 15 from the Lok Sabha and 7 from the Rajya Sabha
- (b)30 members, all elected from the Lok Sabha
- (c)30 members — 20 from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha
- (d)22 members, all elected from the Lok Sabha
Answer(b) 30 members, all elected from the Lok Sabha — it is the largest committee of Parliament and the Rajya Sabha has no representation on it.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee is appointed by
- (a)the President of India
- (b)the Prime Minister
- (c)the Speaker of the Lok Sabha
- (d)the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha
Answer(c) the Speaker of the Lok Sabha — and by a convention followed since 1967 the post goes to a member of the Opposition.