New Delhi, June 28 (IANS) The government on Sunday launched the AI-enabled Rural Internal Audit Portal, a first-of-its-kind digital platform aimed at strengthening transparency, accountability and technology-driven governance across rural development programmes.

Union Minister for Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched the portal during the Rashtriya Gramin Vikas Sammelan at the Pusa Campus in New Delhi.

The platform has been developed by the Ministry of Rural Development in collaboration with the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to manage the entire internal audit process through a unified digital system.

The Rural Internal Audit Portal has been conceived by the Office of the Chief Controller of Accounts (CCA) and is designed to handle both risk-based and compliance audits.

The ministry said the platform marks a major step towards modernising traditional audit practices and leveraging emerging technologies to improve governance.

According to the ministry, the portal transforms internal audits from a paper-intensive and fragmented exercise into a transparent, technology-enabled and data-driven management system.

It integrates audit planning, execution, reporting, compliance management, monitoring and analytics within a single digital ecosystem.

The initiative was developed to address challenges associated with conventional audit processes, which often involved dispersed records, manual correspondence, delays in reporting and limited monitoring capabilities. The absence of a centralised repository also made it difficult to track recurring observations, monitor compliance and assess risks over time.

The ministry undertook extensive consultations with auditors, programme divisions, field officials and other stakeholders before developing the platform. A pilot project was launched in Chandauli district of Uttar Pradesh on April 1, 2025, and its successful implementation led to the gradual expansion of the system. All major modules became operational from October 2025.

The portal now supports the complete audit lifecycle, including audit planning, engagement approvals, audit observations, action taken reports, para settlement and archival of records.

Officials said the platform aims to digitise and simplify internal audit processes, create a central repository of audit records, enable risk-based audit planning and automate the generation of audit reports. It is also expected to facilitate real-time monitoring of audit progress and improve compliance management.

–IANS

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