Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Shashi Kant Sharma suggested that the Reserve Bank of India also be audited. Currently, the RBI is not audited by CAG, but by auditors appointed by the Centre, Kant said at an Assocham event in Delhi. Sharma said that in light of the rising number of instances of financial fraud, the audit should examine the financial sector’s risks and vulnerabilities, and regulators’ abilities to mitigate such cases. He also added that in a country that is largely financially illiterate, the possibility of fraud was much higher.

“The emerging international trend of the oversight of the regulators, in order to provide a higher level of assurance, is an interesting development that must be watched to inform our own system of oversight and assurance,” he said. Sharma said there needed to be a “comprehensive strategy” to deal with fraud committed against banks, and that regulators needed to work together to improve the capacity to deal with such cases, PTI reported.

The CAG also audits other financial sector regulators like Securities and Exchange Board of India, Insurance and Regulatory Development Authority, and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority, but does not conduct performance audits.