What is in news : Leader of opposition, Lok sabha has asked permission of Lok sabha speaker for a PAC meeting to review vaccination policy.

What  is PAC?

• Standing Parliamentary Committee
• Examines the manners and results of spending the public funds.
• Who are the members :
• Total- 22
• 15 are from Lok Sabha while 7 from Rajya Sabha
• Members are “elected” by members of Parliament amongst themselves via a system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote
• Tenure of members: 1 year
• Note : Minister cannot be a member

Chairman of PAC

• Appointed by Speaker from its members.
• The chairman used to be of ruling party till mid-1960s, however, now the chairman of PAC is from opposition by convention.

Functions

• Examines the three audit reports of CAG submitted to President viz. audit report on appropriation accounts, audit report on finance accounts and audit report on public undertakings.
• Examines the appropriation accounts and the finance accounts of the Union government and any other accounts laid before the Lok Sabha. While doing this examination, it tries to ensure that money disbursed to various ministries was used for the purpose for which it was given; and this money was used as per rules and regulations.
• Examines the accounts of the public service corporations {except those public undertakings which have been allotted to committee on public undertakings}, and other such bodies whose accounts are audited by CAG.

History of PAC :

• First set up in 1921 in the wake of the Montague-Chelmsford Reforms
• W M Hailey was its first president
• Bhupendra Nath Mitra its first Indian president
• The last president before Independence was Liaquat Ali Khan.
• With the Constitution coming into force on January, 26, 1950, the Committee became a Parliamentary Committee functioning under the Speaker with a non-official Chairman appointed by the Speaker from among the Members of Lok Sabha elected to the Committee.