About the Competition
The CAG–ICSSR Research Article Competition is being organised under the collaboration between the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India and the Indian Council of Social Science Research, with the objective of encouraging academic engagement with issues relating to public finance, governance, social sector spending, employment and local bodies. The competition seeks to promote original, evidence-based and policy-relevant research by students and research scholars, using CAG Audit Reports as important reference material.
Eligibility- Open to full-time bona fide students enrolled in recognised Undergraduate, Postgraduate or Doctoral programmes, subject to the detailed eligibility requirements notified for the Competition.
Mode of Participation-Entries are to be submitted online only. Only individual entries are permitted and co-authored entries are not allowed. One entry per participant is permitted.
Submission Requirements-Research articles are to be submitted in PDF format. Submissions should follow MLA 9th Edition, Times New Roman 12-point font, standard margins and double spacing. Identity should not be disclosed in the article.
Evaluation- Evaluation will be carried out by domain experts on a blind basis with weightage for policy relevance, originality, methodological rigour, citations, analysis and interpretation.
Important Instructions for Participants
- Participants may use the audit reports linked below as reference material for selecting themes and developing research articles.
- Submissions must be original and unpublished. Any use of AI tools or plagiarised content shall lead to disqualification.
- Participants must submit a bonafide certificate as proof of enrolment during registration/submission, as applicable.
- For State/UT level entries, submissions are accepted in the scheduled languages and English. National level entries are restricted to English and Hindi.
- The detailed competition portal/registration link and official notification may be referred to separately when notified by ICSSR/CAG.
- State/UT Level Submission- 01 July – 31 August 2026
Please click here to access the relevant Audit Reports on the research areas below and explore potential topics for your research article.
i. Fiscal Federalism and Governance
ii. Social Sector Spending
iii. Skilling, Employment and MSMEs
iv. Empowering Urban and Rural Local Bodies
Click here for more information and registration process