According to Girish Chandra Murmu, the audit will become more important as the blue economy gains prominence
Girish Chandra Murmu, the CAG of India, has stated that in order to achieve sustainable growth, Supreme Audit Institutions should create new methods and capacities for auditing marine life or the blue economy. The governments are reorienting policies and regulatory structures to conserve and sustainably utilise the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development in order to satisfy their commitment to sustainability goals in accordance with SDG 14 – Life below Water.
"Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) must align themselves with national priorities and efforts, through their audit by tracking progress, monitoring implementation, and identifying opportunities for improvement," Murmu said, while inaugurating the three-day meeting of the Supreme Audit Institutions-20 (SAI20) Engagement Group, set up under India's G20 Presidency.
Delegates from SAI20 member Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) from G20 nations, as well as guests, invited SAIs, international organisations, and engagement groups, are in attendance at the conference. According to Murmu, the audit will become more important as the blue economy gains prominence. He also stated that "to stay ahead of the curve, the SAI20 community must prioritise collaborations in arriving at new techniques, skills, capabilities, and methods."
He added that the Compendium on Blue Economy produced by SAl India, which features 16 case studies, demonstrates expertise and information sharing in a way that "will stand us in good stead as we undertake audits of the blue economy." At SAI India's International Centre for Environment Audit and Sustainable Development, a certified Global Training Facility for INTOSAI, Jaipur, the CAG also announced the opening of a Centre for Excellence in the Blue Economy.
"We set the ball rolling in April 2023 with an international webinar on experience sharing by 7 SAI represented by 32 participants on an audit of blue economy-related issues.
"Our vision is to create a centre of excellence that not only fosters research but also acts as a catalyst for knowledge sharing and capacity building amongst SAIs in this important field," he said.
According to Murmu, it would be crucial for policymakers to set up procedures to responsibly harness the potential of this technology given the power, potential, and dangers of AI. However, he noted that as AI increasingly permeates governance, SAIs would inevitably need to get ready to audit AI-based governance systems. SAIs must simultaneously explore ways to incorporate AI into their auditing processes in order to improve their efficacy. According to him, responsible AI should be built on four pillars: organisational democratisation, which empowers and encourages people to voice their concerns; systems that foster the growth of AI; trustworthy and comprehensible systems and platforms; and the articulation of a mission for responsible AI, which is rooted in organisational values and moral guidelines.