New Delhi

Comptroller and Auditor General of India K Sanjay Murthy on Wednesday stressed the need for India to adopt advanced technology and data-driven systems to uncover corruption and irregularities in government procurement processes. He also called for closer collaboration between the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to detect cartelisation and safeguard public money.

Speaking at the 17th annual day celebrations of the Competition Commission of India, Murthy said audit mechanisms and competition regulators must work in tandem to tackle anti-competitive conduct in public procurement, as such practices have a direct impact on public spending and citizens' welfare.

He observed that collusion among suppliers in government tenders — including price-fixing, bid manipulation and market-sharing arrangements — not only breaches competition laws but also causes significant financial losses to the public exchequer.

Murthy said the CAG is increasingly relying on artificial intelligence, machine learning and large-scale data analytics to identify irregularities in procurement systems and generate actionable evidence.

According to him, these technologies are helping auditors move beyond traditional sampling methods towards a more comprehensive analysis of procurement data for detailed scrutiny.

He further noted that audit systems are gradually shifting towards real-time monitoring capabilities, enabling authorities to identify suspicious bidding patterns, vendor clustering, repeated bid rotations and concentration of contract awards that may indicate restricted competition or cartel-like behaviour.

Murthy emphasised that cooperation between the CAG and the CCI through data and insight sharing could create substantial public value, particularly as India's procurement ecosystem becomes more digital and increasingly complex.

He also pointed out that audit findings from the CAG have previously contributed to investigations by the CCI into cases involving bid rigging and cartelisation in public tenders, including an April 2026 order against 17 entities accused of collusive bidding practices.

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Murthy said such institutional collaboration would become even more critical as India advances towards its vision of becoming a developed nation by 2047, where transparent public expenditure and fair market competition will play a vital role in sustaining economic growth.