Vinod Rai
Encyclopedia
Vinod Rai is the present Comptroller and Auditor General of India
. He assumed office on . He holds a Masters Degree in Economics
from the University of Delhi
, and Masters in Public Administration
from Harvard University
.He did his schooling from Vidya Niketan - Birla Public School - BPS Pilani Rajasthan. He belongs to Ghazipur
UP.
Mr Rai is a 1972 batch Kerala
cadre officer of Indian Administrative Service
(IAS). He was the MD of Kerala State Co-operative Marketing Federation from 1977 to 1980. Prior to his appointment as Financial Services Secretary, Mr Rai was Additional Secretary in the Banking Division of the Finance Ministry.
He has been a Director on several Boards including the State Bank of India
, ICICI Bank
, IDBI Bank, Life Insurance Corporation of India and Infrastructure Development and Finance Company of India. Mr. Rai was instrumental in setting up the India Infrastructure Finance Company and was also on the Board of this company. Rai has also been the Principal Secretary (Finance) in the State Government of Kerala
, apart from holding senior positions in the Ministries of Commerce and Defence, Government of India.
As Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Vinod Rai has consistently hit the headlines for his unforgiving audits, ranging from the scathing report on the shoddy preparation for the 2010 Commonwealth Games
to the latest on spectrum allocations for second generation (2G) telecom services. Bureaucratic grapevine suggests there was quite a bit of pressure on Rai to dilute the 2G report but he held fast, merely asking his people to check for unnecessarily harsh or unfair language. The report ripped apart the government, even pointing a finger at the prime minister for arbitrarily giving away spectrum, a valuable and limited national resource. The CAG
report said the ultimate loss to the exchequer could be as high as Rs 1.76 lakh crore.Behind every gigantic scam that has shaken the Manmohan Singh regime - CWG, 2G or KG basin - there is the quiet and assertive hand of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India Mr Vinod Rai.
He is a keen tennis player and his other interests include cricket and mountaineering. He figured as one of the persons in Forbes magazine January 2011, the profile of the country's top auditor carried a picture of him executing a forehand shot.
Comptroller and Auditor General of India
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India is an authority, established by the Constitution of India, who audits all receipts and expenditure of the Government of India and the state governments, including those of bodies and authorities substantially financed by the government. The CAG is...
. He assumed office on . He holds a Masters Degree in Economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
from the University of Delhi
University of Delhi
The University of Delhi is a central university situated in Delhi, India and is funded by Government of India. Established in 1922, it offers courses at the undergraduate and post-graduate level. Vice-President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansari is the Chancellor of the university...
, and Masters in Public Administration
Public administration
Public Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....
from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.He did his schooling from Vidya Niketan - Birla Public School - BPS Pilani Rajasthan. He belongs to Ghazipur
Ghazipur
Ghazipur , or Ghazipur City, previously spelt Ghazeepore, is a city/town and a municipal corporation and headquarter of Ghazipur district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Ghazipur Division and Sub-division...
UP.
Mr Rai is a 1972 batch Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
cadre officer of Indian Administrative Service
Indian Administrative Service
The Indian Administrative Service is the administrative civil service of the Government of India. It is one of the three All India Services....
(IAS). He was the MD of Kerala State Co-operative Marketing Federation from 1977 to 1980. Prior to his appointment as Financial Services Secretary, Mr Rai was Additional Secretary in the Banking Division of the Finance Ministry.
He has been a Director on several Boards including the State Bank of India
State Bank of India
The State Bank of India is the largest Indian banking and financial services company with its headquarters in Mumbai, India. It is state-owned. The bank traces its ancestry to British India, through the Imperial Bank of India, to the founding in 1806 of the Bank of Calcutta, making it the oldest...
, ICICI Bank
ICICI Bank
ICICI Bank Ltd. is India's second largest financial services company headquartered in Mumbai, India. It offers a wide range of banking products and financial services to corporate and retail customers through a variety of delivery channels and through its specialised subsidiaries in the areas of...
, IDBI Bank, Life Insurance Corporation of India and Infrastructure Development and Finance Company of India. Mr. Rai was instrumental in setting up the India Infrastructure Finance Company and was also on the Board of this company. Rai has also been the Principal Secretary (Finance) in the State Government of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, apart from holding senior positions in the Ministries of Commerce and Defence, Government of India.
As Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Vinod Rai has consistently hit the headlines for his unforgiving audits, ranging from the scathing report on the shoddy preparation for the 2010 Commonwealth Games
2010 Commonwealth Games
The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games, were held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 2010. A total of 6,081 athletes from 71 Commonwealth nations and dependencies competed in 21 sports and 272 events, making it the largest Commonwealth Games till date...
to the latest on spectrum allocations for second generation (2G) telecom services. Bureaucratic grapevine suggests there was quite a bit of pressure on Rai to dilute the 2G report but he held fast, merely asking his people to check for unnecessarily harsh or unfair language. The report ripped apart the government, even pointing a finger at the prime minister for arbitrarily giving away spectrum, a valuable and limited national resource. The CAG
CAG
CAG may refer to:* CAG, in biology is the codon that codes for the amino acid glutamine* The CAG promoter used in molecular biology* Comptroller and Auditor General...
report said the ultimate loss to the exchequer could be as high as Rs 1.76 lakh crore.Behind every gigantic scam that has shaken the Manmohan Singh regime - CWG, 2G or KG basin - there is the quiet and assertive hand of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India Mr Vinod Rai.
He is a keen tennis player and his other interests include cricket and mountaineering. He figured as one of the persons in Forbes magazine January 2011, the profile of the country's top auditor carried a picture of him executing a forehand shot.