MarisaBlackwelde at 10:19, 24 April 2026

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{{Short description|Comptroller of India (1931–2010)}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = '''C G Somiah'''
| image =
| office = 8th [[Comptroller and Auditor General of India ]]
| term_start = 1990
| term_end = 1996
| president =
| predecessor = [[T. N. Chaturvedi]]
| successor = [[V. K. Shunglu]]
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1931|3|11}}<ref name="rmaf">{{cite web |url=http://saiindia.gov.in/english../home/about_us/history/1990-2007/Vol_1/cag_photos.pdf |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2014-01-03 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103202032/http://saiindia.gov.in/english../home/about_us/history/1990-2007/Vol_1/cag_photos.pdf |archivedate=3 January 2014 |df=dmy-all }} CAG of India.</ref>
| birth_place = [[Kodagu]], India
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2010|09|13|1931|03|11}}
| death_place = [[Bangalore]], India
| occupation = [[Indian Administrative Service|IAS Officer]] (1953–1996)
| alma_mater = [[Loyola College, Chennai|Loyola College]], [[University of Madras]]<br />[[University of Oxford]]
| awards =
| spouse = Indira Somiah
}}

'''C. G. Somiah''' served as the eighth [[Comptroller and Auditor General of India]] who was known for his honesty and for his impeccable career record. He wrote a best-seller autobiography 'The honest always stand alone'.<ref name="death">{{cite web|title=Former CAG C G Somaiah passes away|url=http://www.mangalorean.com/specials/specialnews.php?newsid=197397&newstype=local|work=Mangalorean.com|publisher=Mangalore Media Company|accessdate=3 January 2014|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103184935/http://www.mangalorean.com/specials/specialnews.php?newsid=197397&newstype=local|archivedate=3 January 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref> He had a long career as an [[Indian Administrative Service|IAS]] officer first in the state of [[Orissa, India|Orissa]] and next in five central ministries (defense, finance, company affairs, planning and home affairs) of [[India]].<ref name="confident">{{cite news|last=Bhattacharya|first=A K|title=The confidential bureaucrat|url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/the-confidential-bureaucrat-110090900070_1.html|accessdate=3 January 2014|newspaper=Business Standard|date=9 September 2010}}</ref>

==Orissa cadre==

Somiah was first posted as [[Assistant commissioner (revenue)|Assistant commissioner]] in Orissa.<ref name="firm">{{cite news|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20100919/spectrum/book4.htm|title=He stood firm against pressure|last=Anand|first=V. Eshwar|date=19 September 2010|newspaper=The Tribune, India|accessdate=3 January 2014}}</ref>

In Orissa as State Forest Secretary, he took a principled stand against granting concessions to contractors of the ''Kendu'' leaf (a minor forest produce used for wrapping beedis) commodity.<ref name="firm"/><ref name="loner">{{cite news|last=Padmanabhan|first=A. S.|title=A lucky loner in the corridors of power|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-bookreview/a-lucky-loner-in-the-corridors-of-power/article590514.ece|accessdate=3 January 2014|newspaper=The Hindu|date=24 August 2010}}</ref><ref name="confident">{{cite news|last=Bhattacharya|first=A K|title=The confidential bureaucrat|url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/the-confidential-bureaucrat-110090900070_1.html|accessdate=3 January 2014|newspaper=Business Standard|date=9 September 2010}}</ref><ref name="truth">{{cite news|url=http://www.outlookindia.com/printarticle.aspx?266450|title=On The Half-Tones of Truth|last=Gopalakrishnan|first=R|date=9 August 2010|newspaper=Outlook India|accessdate=3 January 2014|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103220624/http://www.outlookindia.com/printarticle.aspx?266450|archivedate=3 January 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

==Union Government==

Somiah was deputed to the Central Government in New Delhi where he had an uninterrupted 15-year stint in various ''Bhavans'' (Government houses and offices) on Raisina Hill until 1996.<ref name="confident">{{cite news|last=Bhattacharya|first=A K|title=The confidential bureaucrat|url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/the-confidential-bureaucrat-110090900070_1.html|accessdate=3 January 2014|newspaper=Business Standard|date=9 September 2010}}</ref> Somiah worked in association with policy makers including [[Nanabhoy Palkhivala|Nani Palkivala]] and [[Ashoke Kumar Sen]]. Once [[Dhirubhai Ambani]] tried to test his integrity by offering him some shares in [[Reliance Industries|Reliance]] out of the promoter's quota. Somiah bluntly refused him.<ref name="firm"/>

He was the financial controller of the Asian Games Organising committee in the 1982 Asian Games held in New Delhi.<ref name="death">{{cite web|title=Former CAG C G Somaiah passes away|url=http://www.mangalorean.com/specials/specialnews.php?newsid=197397&newstype=local|work=Mangalorean.com|publisher=Mangalore Media Company|accessdate=3 January 2014|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103184935/http://www.mangalorean.com/specials/specialnews.php?newsid=197397&newstype=local|archivedate=3 January 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref> In 1983 he was appointed Secretary Department of Company Affairs and Chairman of the [[Company Law Board]].<ref name="rmaf">{{cite web |url=http://saiindia.gov.in/english../home/about_us/history/1990-2007/Vol_1/cag_photos.pdf |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2014-01-03 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103202032/http://saiindia.gov.in/english../home/about_us/history/1990-2007/Vol_1/cag_photos.pdf |archivedate=3 January 2014 |df=dmy-all }} CAG of India.</ref>

While he had a stint in the department of Company Affairs, the exemption limit under the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices (MRTP) Act was raised. So accordingly, when Somiah later became the Home Secretary he found his office room was bugged. He summoned the individual responsible for this and chastised him.<ref name="loner">{{cite news|last=Padmanabhan|first=A. S.|title=A lucky loner in the corridors of power|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-bookreview/a-lucky-loner-in-the-corridors-of-power/article590514.ece|accessdate=3 January 2014|newspaper=The Hindu|date=24 August 2010}}</ref>

Later when India purchased Czech pistols, Somiah found them to be defective. He worked through the diplomatic channels and got the price refunded from the foreign seller. But he was unnecessarily suspected and a probe was instituted after which he was found to be innocent.<ref name="loner">{{cite news|last=Padmanabhan|first=A. S.|title=A lucky loner in the corridors of power|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-bookreview/a-lucky-loner-in-the-corridors-of-power/article590514.ece|accessdate=3 January 2014|newspaper=The Hindu|date=24 August 2010}}</ref>

===Planning Commission===

He was made Secretary of the [[Planning Commission (India)|Planning Commission]] when [[Dr. Manmohan Singh]] was its chairman. He was the [[Home Secretary]] under [[Rajiv Gandhi]].<ref name="death">{{cite web|title=Former CAG C G Somaiah passes away|url=http://www.mangalorean.com/specials/specialnews.php?newsid=197397&newstype=local|work=Mangalorean.com|publisher=Mangalore Media Company|accessdate=3 January 2014|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103184935/http://www.mangalorean.com/specials/specialnews.php?newsid=197397&newstype=local|archivedate=3 January 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref> He had advised the Central Government during the formulation of the Seventh [[Five-Year Plans of India|Five-Year Plan]] and in deciding the allocation of financial resources for the various State Plans.<ref name="rmaf">{{cite web |url=http://saiindia.gov.in/english../home/about_us/history/1990-2007/Vol_1/cag_photos.pdf |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2014-01-03 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103202032/http://saiindia.gov.in/english../home/about_us/history/1990-2007/Vol_1/cag_photos.pdf |archivedate=3 January 2014 |df=dmy-all }} CAG of India.</ref>

===Home Secretary===

He was later made Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs. As Home Secretary, he led a delegation to [[Pakistan]] in 1987 to discuss [[counter terrorism]] and the control of [[narcotics]].<ref name="rmaf">{{cite web |url=http://saiindia.gov.in/english../home/about_us/history/1990-2007/Vol_1/cag_photos.pdf |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2014-01-03 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103202032/http://saiindia.gov.in/english../home/about_us/history/1990-2007/Vol_1/cag_photos.pdf |archivedate=3 January 2014 |df=dmy-all }} CAG of India.</ref>

He was also involved in [[Operation Black Thunder]], in fighting terrorism in [[Punjab, India|Punjab]] and in flushing out terrorists from the [[Harmandir Sahib|Golden Temple]]. He later paid a visit to the Golden Temple with his wife, to pray and to pay his respects, while his superiors supposedly overlooked the need to do so. His act helped assuage the tense situation in Amritsar.<ref name="truth"/>

He was also involved in controlling the disturbances that occurred in [[Darjeeling]]. He was closely involved in signing the [[Punjabis|Punjab]], Assam, [[Mizo people|Mizo]] and [[Gorkhaland]] accords.<ref name="firm"/> On 22 August 1988, the [[Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council]] Treaty was signed inside the throne room in [[Kolkata]]'s [[Raj Bhavan, Kolkata|Raj Bhavan]] by [[Subhash Ghising]] (GNLF Chief) on behalf of [[Darjeeling]] [[Gorkhas]], C. G. Somiah (Central Home Secretary) on behalf of the Indian Union and Rathindranath Sengupta (Chief Secretary of West Bengal) on behalf the [[West Bengal]] State. [[Home Minister]] [[Buta Singh]] and West Bengal Chief Minister [[Jyoti Basu]] stood as witnesses.<ref>{{cite book|last=Dasgupta|first=Surajit Kumar|title=West Bengal's Jyoti Basu: A Political Profile|year=1992|publisher=Gyan Books|location=New Delhi|page=75|isbn=9788121204200|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N7QI4eOM18cC&q=somiah+gorkhaland&pg=PA75}}</ref> In October 1988, Somiah was made the [[Central Vigilance Commission]]er.

When he was part of the home ministry, he rejected the suggestion to ban the religious right of the Coorgs (Kodavas) and the people of Coorg (Kodagu) to possess guns. This religious right is similar to that of the [[Sikhs]] to hold the [[kirpans]].<ref name="truth"/>

Somiah was as renowned for his modesty as he was for his uprightness. He would dine modestly with his family and drive his personal Maruthi car while not flaunting his status as home secretary. When he once missed a red signal once, he promptly paid the fine on the spot to the constable without making any fuss.<ref name="truth"/>

===CAG===

He was sworn in by the [[President of India]] in 1990 to serve a six-year term as [[Comptroller and Auditor General of India]] (CAG). He served as the CAG between 27 March 1990 and 11 March 1996. The CAG is ranked 9th in India according to the [[Indian order of precedence]] and has the same status as a judge of the [[Supreme Court of India]]. As CAG he headed the financial audits of the Central Government, the 26 States and 5 Union Territories of India.<ref name="rmaf">{{cite web |url=http://saiindia.gov.in/english../home/about_us/history/1990-2007/Vol_1/cag_photos.pdf |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2014-01-03 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103202032/http://saiindia.gov.in/english../home/about_us/history/1990-2007/Vol_1/cag_photos.pdf |archivedate=3 January 2014 |df=dmy-all }} CAG of India.</ref>

===Chairman of the UN Board of Auditors===

Between 1993 and 1996, he was the Chairman of Asian Organisation of Supreme Audit Institution (ASOSAI). He was also elected to the United Nations Board of Auditors for a three-year term from July 1993. In January 1995, he became the Chairman of the UN Board of Auditors or the UN Audit Committee (the first Indian to become so).<ref name="rmaf">{{cite web |url=http://saiindia.gov.in/english../home/about_us/history/1990-2007/Vol_1/cag_photos.pdf |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2014-01-03 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103202032/http://saiindia.gov.in/english../home/about_us/history/1990-2007/Vol_1/cag_photos.pdf |archivedate=3 January 2014 |df=dmy-all }} CAG of India.</ref><ref name="death">{{cite web|title=Former CAG C G Somaiah passes away|url=http://www.mangalorean.com/specials/specialnews.php?newsid=197397&newstype=local|work=Mangalorean.com|publisher=Mangalore Media Company|accessdate=3 January 2014|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103184935/http://www.mangalorean.com/specials/specialnews.php?newsid=197397&newstype=local|archivedate=3 January 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

==Retirement==

He retired in 1996. In November 2000, the [[Karnataka]] state honoured him with the [[Rajyotsava Prashasti]] (Rajyotsava award).<ref name="rmaf">{{cite web |url=http://saiindia.gov.in/english../home/about_us/history/1990-2007/Vol_1/cag_photos.pdf |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2014-01-03 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103202032/http://saiindia.gov.in/english../home/about_us/history/1990-2007/Vol_1/cag_photos.pdf |archivedate=3 January 2014 |df=dmy-all }} CAG of India.</ref>

==Autobiography==

His autobiography 'The honest always stand alone', by Niyogi Publishers, was launched by former [[President of India]] Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam in New Delhi on 15 July 2010.<ref name="death">{{cite web|title=Former CAG C G Somaiah passes away|url=http://www.mangalorean.com/specials/specialnews.php?newsid=197397&newstype=local|work=Mangalorean.com|publisher=Mangalore Media Company|accessdate=3 January 2014|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103184935/http://www.mangalorean.com/specials/specialnews.php?newsid=197397&newstype=local|archivedate=3 January 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=C.G. Somaiah's Book to be launched|url=http://www.coorg.com/c-g-somaiahs-book-to-be-launched/|work=COFFEELAND|publisher=Coorg.com|accessdate=3 January 2014}}</ref><ref name="honest">{{cite web|title=The honest always stand alone|url=http://www.flipkart.com/honest-always-stand-alone/p/itmdyv5d74kncyaz|work=Flipkart|accessdate=3 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The honest always stand alone|url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8888968-the-honest-always-stand-alone|work=Goodreads|accessdate=3 January 2014}}</ref>

==Death==

He died on 13 September 2010 after a brief illness.<ref name="family">{{cite news|last=Kumar M (TNN)|first=Anil|title=Former CAG dead|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/former-CAG-dies-of-illness/speednewsbytopic/keyid-422926.cms|accessdate=3 January 2014|newspaper=The Times of India, Bangalore|date=14 September 2010}}</ref> His funeral was attended by several fans, well-wishers and relatives.<ref name="death">{{cite web|title=Former CAG C G Somaiah passes away|url=http://www.mangalorean.com/specials/specialnews.php?newsid=197397&newstype=local|work=Mangalorean.com|publisher=Mangalore Media Company|accessdate=3 January 2014|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103184935/http://www.mangalorean.com/specials/specialnews.php?newsid=197397&newstype=local|archivedate=3 January 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

==Family==

He was survived by his wife Indira, son Anand and daughter Pria Alva (the daughter-in-law of [[Margaret Alva]]).<ref name="family"/>

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

{{Home Ministry (India)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Somiah, C. G.}}
[[Category:1931 births]]
[[Category:2010 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Kodagu district]]
[[Category:Comptrollers in India]]
[[Category:University of Madras alumni]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Oxford]]
[[Category:Members of the Planning Commission of India]]
[[Category:Kodava people]]
[[Category:Indian Administrative Service officers]]

C. G. Somiah - Revision history

MarisaBlackwelde at 10:19, 24 April 2026