SSC CGL ASO vs SSC CGL AAO (Audit) | Eligibility, Vacancy, Salary, Powers, Responsibilities

SSC CGL ASO vs SSC CGL AAO (Audit) : The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) examines the recruitment of various posts of Grade “B” and “C” category in the Central Government Ministries and Departments. Assistant Section Officer (ASO) and Assistant Audit Officer (AAO) are some of the upper posts in the Central Government. To get selected for these posts, it is necessary to score high in the papers. 

The SSC CGL examination is conducted in various stages termed Tiers. The examination is conducted in 2 tiers. Tier-I and Tier-II is a Computer-Based Examination that consists of Objective-Type multiple-choice questions. The selected candidates will be required to appear for document verification along with the original documents and their photocopies. 

The selected candidates for the post of Assistant Section Officer (ASO) are allocated positions in different ministries of the Central Government. Similarly, the qualified candidates for the Assistant Audit Officer are posted under the Indian Audit and Accounts Department, which is responsible for the audit of accounts of Central and State Governments and PSUs. 

Before understanding the similarities and differences between SSC CGl ASO and AAO, let’s take an overview of examination of the posts

SSC CGL ASO vs SSC CGL AAO (Audit): Overview

Name of the Examination	Combined Graduate Level Examination, 2022
Name of the Post	Assistant Audit OfficerAssistant Section Officer
Name of the Examination Conducting Authority	Staff Selection Commission
Name of the Department For AAO	Indian Audit & Accounts Department under CAG
Name of the Department of ASO	Central Secretariat Service,Intelligence Bureau,Ministry of Railway,AFHQ,Others.
Classification of the Posts	Group “B”
The first and the last date of submission of online applications	17th September 2022 to 13th October 2022
Tier-I Examination Schedule	December 2022

SSC CGL ASO vs SSC CGL AAO (Audit) Eligibility

The condition of nationality applies to AAO and ASO: 

Nationality

The applicant must be a citizen of India or a subject of Nepal, or Bhutan, or a Tibetan refugee who had come to India before the 1st January 1962 intending to permanently settle in India.

A person of Indian origin who had migrated from Pakistan, Burma, East African Countries of Kenya, Sri Lanka, the United Republic of Tanzania (Formerly Tanganyika and Zanzibar), Uganda, Zambia, Zaire, Ethiopia, Vietnam, and Malawi to permanently settle in India. 

Age Limit

Age limit for the posts of SSC ASO and SSC AAO :

SSC CGL ASO

There are 2 different age limits depending on the ministry :

• 20-30 years (i.e., the applicant should not have been born before 02-01-1992 and not later than 01-01-2001) There will be age relaxation as per the notification. 
• 18-30 years (i.e., the applicant should not have been born before 02-01-1992 and not later than 01-01-2004)

Refer to the following table to understand the age limit fixed for different segments for the posts of ASO: 

Name of Department/ Ministry/ Office/ Cadre	Age Limit
Central Secretariat Service	20-30 years
Ministry of Railway	20-30 years
Intelligence Bureau	18-30 years
Ministry of Railway	20-30 years
AFHQ	20-30 years
Ministry of External Affairs	20-30 years
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology	18-30 years
Other Ministries/ Departments/ Organisations	18-30 years

SSC CGL AAO

Age Limit: 18-30 years (i.e., the applicant should not have been born before 02 January 1992 and not later than 01 January 2004).

Relaxation in Age Limit

Relaxation in the upper age limit and category codes for claiming age relaxation: 

Code No.	Category	Age-Relaxation allowed beyond the fixed upper age limit
01	SC/ST	5 years
02	OBC	3 years
03	PwD (Unreserved)	10 years
04	PwD (OBC)	13 years
05	PwD (SC/ST)	15 years
06	Ex-Servicemen (ESM)	After the deduction of the military service rendered from the actual age on the closing date, 3 years extension will be allowed.
08	Defence Personnel not allowed to operate due to hostilities with any foreign country or in a disturbed area and released as a consequence thereof	3 years
09	Same as above (SC/ST)	8 years

Educational Qualification

Educational qualification for the posts of SSC ASO and SSC AAO :

SSC ASO

Along with holding a Bachelor’s Degree/ Graduation or any equivalent qualification acquired from the recognized University, some other educational qualification is desired for this post.

SSC AAO

Essential Qualifications: Bachelor’s Degree from a recognized University or Institute.

Desirable Qualifications: Chartered Accountant or Cost & Management Accountant or Company Secretary or Masters in Commerce or Masters in Business Studies or Masters in Business Administration (Finance) or Masters in Business Economics.

During the period of probation direct recruits shall have to qualify the “Subordinate Audit/ Accounts Service Examination” in respective branches for confirmation and regular appointment as Assistant Audit Officer/Assistant Accounts Officer.

The candidates who have appeared in their final year of their graduation can also
apply, however they must possess essential qualification on or before the cut-off
date i.e.13 October 2022.

Important note

It is pertinent to note that the result of the required qualification should have been declared by the Institute or University by the specified date. Only processing of the result by the respective University or Institute up to the cut-off date will not satisfy the required educational qualification criteria.

Therefore, the candidates making an application should be able to prove through documentary evidence that the result was declared on or before the cut-off date of the qualifying exam. In such a result declaration, the candidates should have been declared passed for considering them eligible for the applied post. 

SSC CGL ASO vs SSC CGL AAO (Audit): Vacancy 2022-2023

Detailed break-up of vacancies for SSC CGL ASO and AAO for 2022 – 23 are not yet announced. A total of 20000+ vacancies have been announced. Break-up of 2020 -21 and 2021-22 vacancies are as follows :

SSC CGL ASO

Vacancy for these posts occurs in different Central Government Departments. Go through the below chart to get an overview of ASO vacancies: 

2021 – 22

Name of Department	UR	SC	ST	OBC	EWS	Total
Central Secretariat Service (DOPT)	89	25	14	55	20	203
Ministry of External Affairs	26	13	6	24	8	58
Intelligence Bureau	11	3	1	6	2	12
AFHQ (Ministry of Defence)	27	12	5	12	6	62
Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology	7	0	1	1	1	10
Election Commission	4	2	0	4	1	11
Central Administrative Tribunal	0	1	1	0	0	2
National Technical Research Organisation	1	1	0	1	1	4
Central Vigilance Commission	0	0	1	0	0	1

2020 – 21

Name of Department	UR	SC	ST	OBC	EWS	Total
Central Secretariat Service (DOPT)	69	13	10	51	8	151
Ministry of External Affairs	38	13	6	24	8	89
Intelligence Bureau	11	3	1	6	2	23
AFHQ (Ministry of Defence)	36	15	9	20	8	88
Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology	2	1	0	1	1	5
Election Commission	0	1	0	3	0	4
Central Administrative Tribunal	3	1	0	1	0	5
National Technical Research Organisation	3	0	1	1	1	6
Central Vigilance Commission	2	0	0	0	0	2

SSC CGL AAO

Go through the below chart to get an overview of AAO vacancies: 

2021-22

Name of the Department	UR	SC	ST	OBC	EWS	Total
Indian Audit & Accounts Department under CAG	138	50	24	90	33	335

2020-21

Name of the Department	UR	SC	ST	OBC	EWS	Total
Indian Audit & Accounts Department under CAG	103	37	18	67	25	250

SSC CGL ASO v/s SSC CGL AAO Salary

Salary of SSC CGL ASO vs AAO is as follows :

SSC CGL ASO Salary

The post of ASO comes under 4600-grade pay after application of the 7th Pay Commission. The salary will be upgraded as follows for different categories of departments. It is differentiated based on different categories. 

Particulars	X- Category	Y-Category	Z-Category
Basic – A	44900	44900	44900
Dearness Allowances	13919	13919	13919
House Rent Allowance – B	12123	8082	4041
Travel Allowance – C	3600	1800	1800
DA on TA	1116	558	558
Gross Salary (Total of A, B, C)	75658	69259	65218
National Pension Scheme	5567	5567	5567
CGHS	325	325	325
CGEGIS	2880	2880	2880
Total Deductions	8772	8772	8772
Salary in Hand	66886	60487	56446

1. Promotion to Section Officer (4800): To get promoted after 5-7 years, it is necessary to pass the inter-department exam, or else the promotion takes place after 10-12 years. 

2. Promotion from Section Officer to Section Officer (5400): It requires around 4 years to get promoted to 5400-grade pay Section Officer. 

3. For Promotion from Section Officer (5400) to Under Secretary, it requires four to six years. 

4. You will be promoted to the post of Deputy Secretary just before retirement, i.e., before you reach the age of 60 years. It is one of the highest posts with the highest salary. 

SSC CGL AAO Salary

The salary of an Assistant Audit Officer (AAO) is in the range of 63000 to 70000, which is in-hand salary varying as per the city of posting. The salary structure with different elements is provided below: 

Level of Payscale	Pay level-B
Payscale	Rs. 47600 to Rs. 151100
Grade Pay	4800
Basic Pay	Rs. 47600
HRA (depending on the city)	27% Cities – Rs. 12852
	18% Cities- Rs 8568
	9% Cities- Rs 4284
Dearness Allowances (Current-31%)	Rs. 14756
Travel Allowances	Cities- 3600,Other Places- 1800
Gross Salary	27 % Cities- Rs. 79924
	18% Cities- Rs 73,282
	9% Cities- Rs 68,998

Promotion Policy: There are in total two promotions and retirement takes place at the Grade Pay of Rs. 6600. 

SSC CGL ASO v/s SSC CGL AAO: Powers and Responsibilities

Powers and responsibilities of SSC CGL ASO vs AAO is as follows :

SSC CGL ASO: Powers and Responsibilities

The selected candidates will be posted to the Central Secretariat Service, Ministry of Railway, Intelligence Bureau, Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, and many others. 

The Assistant Section Officer is an important job, and has a lot of powers along with responsibilities. Let’s discuss the powers of ASO: 

• Monitoring and taking quick action on the delays of any projects or activities by the particular department. 
• Understanding and Analysis of rules, guidelines, procedures, precedents, and various other documents. 
• Identification of alternative solutions together with analysing the pros and cons of the solutions. 
• Management of Cadre of several established services. 
• Managing questions put forth by the Members of Parliament, providing them assurances and presenting Government bills. 
• Maintenance of the link between the Central Secretariat and the Parliament. 
• Organising the work related to Financial Management and assisting in the preparation of the departmental budgets of the Central Government. 
• Handling the Litigation work of the Central Government (enabling the Central Govt to provide the appropriate reply to the court cases.)
• Monitoring and Controlling the Government policies. 

The responsibilities of ASO are discussed below: 

• Drafting, daily noting, submission of cases, and writing letters. 
• Identification and examination of the issues included in the court case. 
• Identify and collect additional information in form of files or papers, data, and material, if any required as mentioned in the receipt that has an impact on the issues raised in the court case. 
• Providing assistance in the formation, implementation, and monitoring of the deviation after the implementation of policies related to such subjects. 

As the post is regarded as one of the most prestigious posts provided by the Government of India, it is necessary to create a balance between responsibilities and powers. However, it is a straightforward job that can be performed by a normally trained person. With the comfortable working hours and weekend offs, this post is very appealing and comfortable. 

SSC CGL AAO: Powers and Responsibilities

The Assistant Audit Officer is deployed under The Indian Audit and Accounts Department (IAAD). This department assists the CAG in fulfilling its constitutional obligations. It also has the responsibility to audit the accounts of the Central and State Government and Public Sector Enterprises. 

Around a staff of 5 to 8 assistants work under AAO. The work profile of AAO is divided into different sections of posting: 

Administration Section: 

• Acceptance of applications of leave, multiple returns, leave applications, general provident fund claims, and various other applications. 
• Disposal of E-waste (computer and related equipment) and various previous year records. 
• Implementation of guidelines issued by the Head of Office Department and communication of these guidelines with overall staff. 
• Procuring permission for conducting Audit tours and several training programs. 
• Conducting In-house training classes on audit-related topics of junior staff. 
• Verification of bills for travelling allowance for tours, leave travel concession, claiming of miscellaneous expenses, and much more. 
• Maintenance of Office Premises, Service Book, and Library. 

Audit Planning, Execution, and Reporting (OAD Section): 

• Conduct scrutiny and present the Inspector Report to the Director. 
• Managing all the II-A Paras (Major Irregularities) and II-B Paras (Non-Major Financial Irregularities) in the Software Records. 
• Manage meetings for admission of II B Paras with Field Units. 
• Handling Audit planning work for various audit work such as certification, transaction, and annual tour program. 

Reporting Section ( Audit Reporting Work): 

• Convert the II-A paras (Major Irregularities) into a Draft Audit Paragraph (DAP) after verification of the aspects and statistical data of the paragraph in question. 
• Connecting with the field units and requesting required information from the KDs (Key Documents) of the concerned Units. 

Post Com (P&T Audit Section ): 

• Reviewing invoices of Postal Units such as Leave Travel Concession, Travelling Allowance, Medical, RTF, Miscellaneous expenses, CGEGIS, and issue memos for any discrepancies noticed during the audit. 

Field and Tour work: 

The Audit tour takes place four times a year. You will be required to stay outstation for around 45 to 60 days in one quarter. For audit preparation, you will have 10-15 days or even less to prepare the audit plan and manage the audit tour. 

Conclusion: 

SSC CGL provides an opportunity to serve the nation through various Central Government posts in Ministries/ Departments/ Organisations of the Government of India and several Constitutional Bodies or Tribunals or Statutory Bodies. The candidates should prepare for these posts well-in advance to succeed in the examination. Proper planning strategy and effective study techniques will enable the candidates to come out with flying colours.

 

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