APMS is now fully operational within the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, and Delhi is arguably the first State Assembly in the country to implement such a comprehensive real-time audit monitoring portal,” said Honble Speaker Shri Vijender Gupta during a meeting held today with senior officials to assess the status of action taken on the reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
He observed that the adoption of the Audit Para Monitoring System marks a significant step towards transparency, procedural discipline and a more accountable audit follow up mechanism. Shri Gupta expressed concern while examining the status on the portal which showed that 142 audit paragraphs had been uploaded by various departments while only 30 Action Taken Notes had been submitted. He noted that such pendency is unsatisfactory and stressed that timely and complete responses are essential for enabling the Public Accounts Committee to discharge its mandate effectively.
The meeting was attended by Ajay Mahawar , Chairman of the Committee on Public Accounts, Gajender Drall , Chairperson of the Committee on Government Undertakings, Aman Deep Chatha, Accountant General, Audit Government of India, Shurbir Singh, Secretary, Finance, Government of NCT of Delhi, senior officers of the Finance Department, and officers of the Directorate of Audit . A detailed presentation was delivered on the functioning of APMS, illustrating how the portal records each stage of an audit paragraph, captures comments issued by the audit office, tracks departmental replies, reflects delays and provides complete real-time visibility of pendency and compliance.
APMS is a digital platform developed by the Ministry of Finance Expenditure Department and conceptualised by the Controller General of Accounts, based on the Public Accounts Committee’s guidelines. The system enables end-to-end monitoring of audit paragraphs, Action Taken Notes and Action Taken Replies. It displays the original audit observation, the deficiencies identified by the audit, the comments recorded at each stage, the responses uploaded by departments, the acceptance or return of replies and the statutory timelines for finalisation. Earlier versions of the system had been functioning only partially, but with the present integration, APMS is now fully operational for the Delhi Legislative Assembly and provides a transparent and traceable audit trail.
During the meeting, the challenges in audit follow-up were discussed extensively. It was noted that many replies uploaded by departments were not in the prescribed form and therefore could not be placed before the Public Accounts Committee. Several replies lacked required signatures, some did not address the comments of the audit office and others did not correspond to the audit observations. Shri Gupta observed that such deficiencies weaken the audit process and delay meaningful examination of the matters placed before the Committee.
Further , Speaker stressed that incomplete or informal replies cannot be considered valid Action Taken Notes and must be returned for correction. The remedial measures required to strengthen the audit response were also reviewed. The Speaker directed that all departments must submit corrected and properly formatted Action Taken Notes within three weeks. Gupta instructed the Assembly Secretariat to circulate uniform guidelines specifying the required format, signing authority and the manner in which replies must address individual audit comments.
He directed that a comprehensive demonstration of APMS be organised so that the system is well understood at all levels and so that officers accessing the portal are thoroughly familiar with its features, thereby expediting their processes. He noted that proper training, strict adherence to the prescribed format and timely response to audit comments are essential for enabling the Public Accounts Committee to carry out its work efficiently.
Gupta reiterated that the adoption of APMS is intended to modernise audit oversight, reduce reliance on manual file movement, and strengthen the Government of NCT of Delhi’s financial accountability framework. He noted that several long-pending CAG reports had been tabled in the House earlier this year and that timely departmental action is required ahead of forthcoming meetings of the Public Accounts Committee. He stated that APMS brings clarity, structure and discipline to the audit cycle and ensures that responsibility for compliance is clearly fixed.
Concluding the meeting, the Speaker affirmed that the Delhi Legislative Assembly remains committed to improving audit governance, enhancing institutional accountability and reinforcing public trust. He stated that digital platforms such as APMS represent an essential administrative evolution in which transparency becomes a continuous, reliable practice, ensuring that every audit observation receives timely, responsible, and verifiable action.
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