Overview
- SAI India, in an inaugural address Thursday at the BRICS SAI Leaders’ Summit in Bengaluru, said it is auditing 101 cities from a citizen view to track quality of life, access to services, sustainability, and perception.
- The programme includes audits of multi-modal transport and first- and last-mile links in collaboration with the Indian Institutes of Technology, the Indian Institutes of Management, and the World Bank.
- CAG K Sanjay Murthy urged SAIs to move beyond compliance checks and judge whether public spending improves daily life in cities that face traffic, infrastructure strain, and unequal access to services.
- SAI India is adding artificial intelligence and data analytics under its Strategic Plan 2030 to support outcome checks such as whether commute times fall, air quality improves, or access gaps narrow.
- The two-day summit under India’s 2026 BRICS chairmanship is slated to adopt a BRICS SAI Work Plan 2027–28 and a Bengaluru Declaration to align audit responses on urban mobility and ease of living.