• Recently India’s Comptroller and Auditor General has been selected as External Auditor of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva for a four-year term from 2024 to 2027.

About CAG

• CAG is an independent authority under the Constitution of India.
• Articles 148 – 151 of the Constitution of India deal with the institution of the CAG of India.
• The CAG enjoys the same status as a sitting judge of the Supreme Court of India in order of precedence.
• He is the head of the Indian audit & account department.
• It is the institution through which the accountability of the government and other public authorities to Parliament and State Legislatures is ensured.

About International Labour Organization (ILO)

• The International Labour Organization was established in 1919 under the League of Nations and was integrated into the United Nations as an exclusive agency in 1946.
• The ILO brings together governments, employers, and workers of 187 member States, to set labour standards, develop policies and devise programs promoting decent work for all women and men.
• The main aims of the ILO are to promote rights at work, encourage decent employment opportunities, enhance social protection and strengthen dialogue on work-related issues.
• India has ratified about six out of the eight core/fundamental ILO conventions. They are:
  • Forced Labour Convention (No. 29)
  • Abolition of Forced Labour Convention (No.105)
  • Equal Remuneration Convention (No.100)
  • Discrimination (Employment Occupation) Convention (No.111)
  • Minimum Age Convention (No.138)
  • Worst forms of Child Labour Convention (No.182)
• India still needs to ratify the two main core/fundamental conventions:
  • The protection of the Right and Freedom of Association to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87)
  • The Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98)