Para 3.18.8 — MSO (Audit)
Original Rule Text
3.18.8 The role of the director of the laboratory or institute and the project investigator in effective implementation of the projects needs to be particularly examined. The project investigator is to submit periodically financial and physical progress reports to the funding agency, viz. the ministry or the department. Compliance with this requirement should be verified in audit. Audit should also ensure that periodical releases of funds for various projects are linked to their physical progress in order to avoid retention of unutilised financial resources.
What This Means
Auditors should examine the roles of the institute director and the project investigator in ensuring effective project implementation. The project investigator is required to submit regular financial and physical progress reports to the funding ministry. Auditors must verify this requirement is being met and ensure that subsequent fund releases are linked to actual physical progress, so that money does not sit idle with implementing agencies.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Key Points
- 1Examine the role of institute directors and project investigators in project implementation
- 2Verify that project investigators submit periodic financial and physical progress reports
- 3Ensure fund releases are linked to physical progress of the project
- 4Prevent retention of unutilized financial resources by implementing agencies
- 5Check compliance with reporting requirements to the funding ministry
Practical Example
An auditor discovers that a research institute received Rs 2 crore in three installments for a biotechnology project, but the project investigator submitted progress reports only once — at the time of the initial grant. The second and third installments were released without any verification of progress, and Rs 80 lakh remains parked in a fixed deposit, earning interest that was never reported.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is responsible for submitting progress reports — the institute or the project investigator?▼
Why should fund releases be linked to physical progress?▼
What happens if unutilized funds are found with an implementing agency?▼
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.