<p>Bengaluru: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India, K Sanjay Murthy, emphasised that urban mobility represents one of the most-visible interfaces between governance and citizens. He highlighted that the effectiveness of public investments must ultimately be assessed in terms of their impact on improving ease of living. </p><p>He was speaking at the 5th BRICS Supreme Audit Institutions Leaders’ Summit, which concluded in Bengaluru on Friday. </p> .<p>The summit — hosted by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India under the theme of 'Ease of living with a focus on urban mobility' — brought together 38 delegates, including heads of SAIs from nine BRICS countries along with urban finance and mobility experts. </p><p>Participating SAIs emphasised that mobility is not merely about physical movement, but about enabling access to livelihoods, services and opportunities, thereby directly shaping the quality of life of citizens. </p><p>The deliberations of delegations from SAIs of Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Russia, South Africa and the UAE reflected both convergence and diversity of perspectives across BRICS countries. Discussions highlighted challenges arising from rapid urbanisation, congestion, environmental stress, and inequitable access, while also showcasing evolving approaches to addressing these complexities, said a news statement. </p><p>National perspectives of the BRICS SAIs highlighted important dimensions of the issue. The scale of urbanisation across BRICS countries underscored the importance of collaboration and shared learning. Emphasis was also placed on balanced and resilient urban development, enhanced digitisation of systems to handle urban mobility, integration of sustainability and climate considerations and the need for robust governance frameworks to ensure effective outcomes. A key shift highlighted was the movement towards impact-oriented auditing, with focus on quality of life and policy effectiveness, the statement added. </p> .<p>O P Agarwal, Distinguished Fellow of NITI Aayog, emphasised that mobility systems must be integrated, inclusive and aligned with how citizens travel. The importance of coordinated planning, multimodal transport systems and aligning supply with demand was highlighted as essential to improving urban mobility outcomes. </p><p>Technical sessions showcased best practices in auditing urban mobility systems. These included structured frameworks for evaluating public investments with emphasis on planning quality, project readiness, and lifecycle assessment. The importance of ensuring that infrastructure investments deliver public value and tangible outcomes was a recurring theme. </p><p>Discussions also highlighted the role of integrated and long-term planning, sustainable transport systems and technology-enabled governance. Increasing emphasis was placed on the use of data-driven approaches including real-time data systems, digital platforms and advanced analytics, to strengthen audit effectiveness and improve decision-making. </p> .<p>The need to evaluate mobility systems from the perspective of users and to incorporate citizen feedback into audit processes was highlighted as critical to improving service delivery. </p><p>Deliberations on the second day further reinforced the need for a ‘whole-of-government’ approach, recognising that urban mobility outcomes require coordination across sectors and institutions. The importance of moving towards system-level evaluation rather than isolated project assessments was emphasised. Discussions also brought out the growing need for risk-based, preventive, and forward-looking audit approaches supported by stronger use of data and technology.</p> .<p>Innovative and context-specific mobility solutions were also highlighted, particularly in addressing challenges in dense urban environments. The importance of evaluating such solutions in terms of long-term sustainability, integration with existing systems, and value for citizens was emphasised. </p><p>The summit underscored the evolving role of SAIs from traditional compliance-based auditing to more outcome-oriented, data-driven and impact-focused approaches. There was strong recognition of the need for enhanced collaboration, knowledge sharing, and capacity building among SAIs to address complex urban challenges. </p><p>The summit concluded with the adoption of the BRICS SAI Work Plan 2027-28 presented by Director General Vimalendra Patwardhan and the Bengaluru Declaration which was presented and discussed by Deputy C&AG K S Subramanian. </p>
<p>Bengaluru: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India, K Sanjay Murthy, emphasised that urban mobility represents one of the most-visible interfaces between governance and citizens. He highlighted that the effectiveness of public investments must ultimately be assessed in terms of their impact on improving ease of living. </p><p>He was speaking at the 5th BRICS Supreme Audit Institutions Leaders’ Summit, which concluded in Bengaluru on Friday. </p> .<p>The summit — hosted by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India under the theme of 'Ease of living with a focus on urban mobility' — brought together 38 delegates, including heads of SAIs from nine BRICS countries along with urban finance and mobility experts. </p><p>Participating SAIs emphasised that mobility is not merely about physical movement, but about enabling access to livelihoods, services and opportunities, thereby directly shaping the quality of life of citizens. </p><p>The deliberations of delegations from SAIs of Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Russia, South Africa and the UAE reflected both convergence and diversity of perspectives across BRICS countries. Discussions highlighted challenges arising from rapid urbanisation, congestion, environmental stress, and inequitable access, while also showcasing evolving approaches to addressing these complexities, said a news statement. </p><p>National perspectives of the BRICS SAIs highlighted important dimensions of the issue. The scale of urbanisation across BRICS countries underscored the importance of collaboration and shared learning. Emphasis was also placed on balanced and resilient urban development, enhanced digitisation of systems to handle urban mobility, integration of sustainability and climate considerations and the need for robust governance frameworks to ensure effective outcomes. A key shift highlighted was the movement towards impact-oriented auditing, with focus on quality of life and policy effectiveness, the statement added. </p> .<p>O P Agarwal, Distinguished Fellow of NITI Aayog, emphasised that mobility systems must be integrated, inclusive and aligned with how citizens travel. The importance of coordinated planning, multimodal transport systems and aligning supply with demand was highlighted as essential to improving urban mobility outcomes. </p><p>Technical sessions showcased best practices in auditing urban mobility systems. These included structured frameworks for evaluating public investments with emphasis on planning quality, project readiness, and lifecycle assessment. The importance of ensuring that infrastructure investments deliver public value and tangible outcomes was a recurring theme. </p><p>Discussions also highlighted the role of integrated and long-term planning, sustainable transport systems and technology-enabled governance. Increasing emphasis was placed on the use of data-driven approaches including real-time data systems, digital platforms and advanced analytics, to strengthen audit effectiveness and improve decision-making. </p> .<p>The need to evaluate mobility systems from the perspective of users and to incorporate citizen feedback into audit processes was highlighted as critical to improving service delivery. </p><p>Deliberations on the second day further reinforced the need for a ‘whole-of-government’ approach, recognising that urban mobility outcomes require coordination across sectors and institutions. The importance of moving towards system-level evaluation rather than isolated project assessments was emphasised. Discussions also brought out the growing need for risk-based, preventive, and forward-looking audit approaches supported by stronger use of data and technology.</p> .<p>Innovative and context-specific mobility solutions were also highlighted, particularly in addressing challenges in dense urban environments. The importance of evaluating such solutions in terms of long-term sustainability, integration with existing systems, and value for citizens was emphasised. </p><p>The summit underscored the evolving role of SAIs from traditional compliance-based auditing to more outcome-oriented, data-driven and impact-focused approaches. There was strong recognition of the need for enhanced collaboration, knowledge sharing, and capacity building among SAIs to address complex urban challenges. </p><p>The summit concluded with the adoption of the BRICS SAI Work Plan 2027-28 presented by Director General Vimalendra Patwardhan and the Bengaluru Declaration which was presented and discussed by Deputy C&AG K S Subramanian. </p>