PAC Chairpersons Conference to Open in Thiruvananthapuram

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will inaugurate the Conference of Chairpersons of Public Accounts Committees (PACs) of the Parliament of India and of the State and Union Territory Legislatures at Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday, 3 November 2026. The two-day meeting will be taken up on the theme 'Audit, Accountability and Good Governance - The Evolving Role of the PAC'.

Who will be at the opening

• V. D. Satheesan, Chief Minister of Keralam
• Harivansh, Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha
• Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, Speaker of the Keralam Legislative Assembly
• K. N. Balagopal, Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee of the Keralam Legislative Assembly

All four will address the gathering. K. C. Venugopal, Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament, will deliver the welcome address, and Shanimol Usman, Deputy Speaker of the Keralam Legislative Assembly, will propose the vote of thanks. Chairpersons and members of the committees from Parliament and from the State and Union Territory legislatures will take part.

What the conference will take up

The discussion is meant to let members compare experience, exchange working practices and look for ways to make these committees stronger in keeping watch, on behalf of the legislature, over how public money is spent. Transparency, accountability and financial discipline in government are the stated aims. The agenda also covers the newer difficulties in managing public finances, the changing shape of audit and the need to sharpen legislative scrutiny.

Schedule

Closing session

The conference ends on Wednesday, 4 November 2026, with a valedictory session that the Lok Sabha Speaker will address. The Speaker of the Keralam Legislative Assembly and the Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament will also speak at it; the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly will give the welcome address and the Chairperson of the Assembly's own Public Accounts Committee will propose the vote of thanks. The Public Accounts Committee examines public spending and sees that funds are used as the legislature intended, which places it among the chief instruments of accountability in a parliamentary system. The Speaker had met the Chairperson and members of the committee in Parliament House on 15 October 2026.