In the Indian Parliament, the Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Lok Sabha is formally appointed by which authority?

Introduction / Context:
The Public Accounts Committee, commonly known as the PAC, is one of the most important financial committees of the Indian Parliament. It examines how public money granted by Parliament has actually been spent and whether expenditure has conformed to the authority of law. A key feature of this committee is the manner in which its Chairperson is appointed and the convention that this Chairperson usually comes from the opposition. This question tests whether you know who formally appoints the Chairperson of the PAC in the Lok Sabha context.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The committee under discussion is the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament.
• The question asks who appoints its Chairperson.
• Options include the Prime Minister, Speaker of the Lok Sabha, President, and Union Finance Minister.
• We assume the standard practice followed in the Lok Sabha for financial committees.

Concept / Approach:
Financial committees of Parliament, including the Public Accounts Committee, the Estimates Committee, and the Committee on Public Undertakings, are constituted every year. Their members are elected by the members of the Lok Sabha (and in some cases also Rajya Sabha) according to proportional representation. However, the Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee is appointed by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. By convention, the Chairperson is usually from the main opposition party to strengthen financial oversight, but the formal power of appointment rests with the Speaker and not with the executive branch.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify that the Public Accounts Committee is a parliamentary committee that reports mainly to the Lok Sabha.Step 2: Recall that members of the committee are elected from among the members of Parliament, but the Chairperson is not elected by the committee itself.Step 3: Know that the Speaker of the Lok Sabha has the authority to appoint the Chairperson of the PAC.Step 4: Recognise that the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister are members of the executive and do not directly appoint committee chairpersons for Lok Sabha committees.Step 5: Select the option that names the Speaker of the Lok Sabha as the appointing authority.

Verification / Alternative check:
To verify, you can look at official notifications when a new PAC is constituted. These notifications typically state that the Speaker has appointed a particular member as Chairperson. Standard polity textbooks and parliamentary procedure manuals also mention that the Speaker appoints the Chairperson and that it is convention, not law, that the Chairperson comes from the opposition. This confirms that the correct answer is the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, not any member of the executive or the President.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• Prime Minister of India: The Prime Minister leads the government but does not control the internal organisation of Lok Sabha committees.
• President of India: The President is the head of the Union but plays no direct role in appointing committee chairpersons in the Lok Sabha.
• Union Finance Minister: The Finance Minister provides budget proposals that the PAC later scrutinises. Allowing the Finance Minister to appoint the PAC Chairperson would undermine the principle of independent oversight.

Common Pitfalls:
A common mistake is to assume that all important posts in the financial system are filled by the executive. Students also sometimes confuse the role of the Prime Minister or Finance Minister with that of parliamentary presiding officers. Remember that parliamentary committees are instruments of the legislature, and therefore their leadership is normally decided by the presiding officers such as the Speaker or the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, not by the executive branch. Keeping this separation clear helps avoid confusion in similar questions.

Final Answer:
The Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament is formally appointed by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.