Co esponding au ho : Champak Du a.
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Diagnosing in e nal con ol ailu es in India’s pe oleum subsidy p og ams: A COSO-
COBIT Go e nance Analysis
Champak Du a *
Depa men o Oil and Gas Managemen , Uni e si y o Pe oleum and Ene gy S udies, School o Business, U a akhand,
India 248007.
Wo ld Jou nal o Ad anced Resea ch and Re iews, 2025, 26(02), 2007-2011
Publica ion his o y: Recei ed on 03 Ap il 2025; e ised on 11 May 2025; accep ed on 13 May 2025
A icle DOI: h ps://doi.o g/10.30574/wja .2025.26.2.1863
Abs ac
This s udy in es iga es sys emic in e nal con ol ailu es wi hin India’s pe oleum subsidy p og ams, pa icula ly
Lique ied Pe oleum Gas (LPG) and Public Dis ibu ion Sys em (PDS) ke osene schemes. Using he COSO In e nal
Con ol F amewo k (2013) and COBIT (2019) go e nance p inciples, alongside o ensic da a analy ics and selec ed case
s udies, his pape iden i ies ecu ing issues in bene icia y e i ica ion, deli e y alida ion, in oice o e sigh , and IT
go e nance. Despi e e o ms like Aadhaa -based deduplica ion and Di ec Bene i T ans e o LPG (DBTL),
ulne abili ies in eal- ime moni o ing, audi ail consis ency, and in e -agency da a in eg a ion pe sis . No ably, o e
35 million audulen LPG accoun s we e emo ed, highligh ing bo h p og ess and pas sys emic laws. This esea ch
p oposes a obus go e nance model le e aging a i icial in elligence, geo-mapping, and con ol ma ices o enhance
anspa ency and accoun abili y. The model is designed o be eplicable o o he de eloping na ions e o ming public
wel a e dis ibu ion sys ems.
Keywo ds: In e nal Con ol Failu es; Pe oleum Subsidy Go e nance; COSO And COBIT F amewo ks
1. In oduc ion
India's pe oleum subsidy a chi ec u e has his o ically aimed o ensu e a o dable uel access o economically weake
popula ions. P og ams like PAHAL, DBTL, and PMUY ha e digi ized bene i ans e s and in oduced Aadhaa -based
Know You Cus ome (KYC) measu es. Howe e , con ol b eakdowns emain, including iden i y misuse, audulen
disbu semen s, and black-ma ke di e sion. The complex mul i-agency ne wo k comp ising Oil Ma ke ing Companies
(OMCs), banks, dis ibu o s, and minis ies makes e ec i e in e nal con ol challenging. This pape maps key ailu e
poin s agains he COSO and COBIT amewo ks, suppo ed by da a-d i en aud de ec ion and audi insigh s.
2. Li e a u e e iew
Nume ous s udies unde sco e pe sis en ine iciencies. Ba nwal (2014) highligh s leakages due o manual sys ems and
inadequa e o e sigh . Shenoy (2016) c i iques he iscal sa ings unde DBTL, poin ing o exclusion e o s. Mi al e al.
(2017) acknowledge Aadhaa ’s ole in emo ing bogus accoun s bu s ess un esol ed issues in deli e y e i ica ion
and da a synch oniza ion. The Minis y o Pe oleum and Na u al Gas (2023) no es ha despi e AI-based con ols, eal-
ime dashboa d in eg a ion emains insu icien . NITI Aayog (2024) ad oca es o cen alized da a go e nance and
blockchain-backed ansac ion eco ds o enhance aceabili y. Global s udies (Nozick e al., 2018) cau ion ha wi hou
in eg a ed audi sys ems, subsidy p og ams isk en -seeking beha io s.
Wo ld Jou nal o Ad anced Resea ch and Re iews, 2025, 26(02), 2007-2011
2008
3. Me hodology
The s udy employs a hyb id me hodology encompassing in e nal con ol e alua ions, IT go e nance assessmen , and
o ensic analy ics
3.1. COSO F amewo k Assessmen
• Con ol En i onmen : Assessed leade ship commi men wi hin MoPNG and s a e agencies.
• Risk Assessmen : Iden i ied isks such as duplica e bene icia ies and e ill aud.
• Con ol Ac i i ies: Re iewed Aadhaa -KYC checks and in oice alida ion p ocedu es.
• In o ma ion & Communica ion: E alua ed da a sha ing ac oss DBTL, OMCs, and banks.
• Moni o ing: Analyzed eal- ime ale s and audi dep h.
3.2. COBIT 2019 F amewo k
• APO (Align, Plan, O ganize): E alua ed s a egic IT alignmen and da abase owne ship.
• DSS (Deli e , Se ice, Suppo ): In es iga ed ansac ion logging and se ice deli e y mechanisms.
• MEA (Moni o , E alua e, Assess): Analyzed KPIs, dashboa d unc ions, and anomaly de ec ion ools.
3.3. Fo ensic Da a Analy ics Tools
• Used uzzy logic and KYC ma ching o de ec ghos accoun s.
• Applied ime-se ies analysis o e ill anomalies.
• Conduc ed ML-based h ee-way in oice alida ions.
3.4. Case Mapping
• Speci ic case s udies (e.g., Odisha LPG aud) we e mapped agains COSO and COBIT componen s o iden i y
con ol gaps.
4. Resul s
4.1. COSO F amewo k Findings
• Con ol En i onmen : Re o m in en was e iden a he policy le el (e.g., PAHAL), bu ope a ional en o cemen
was weak.
• Risk Assessmen : Reac i e a he han p edic i e isk iden i ica ion domina ed he landscape.
• Con ol Ac i i ies: While Aadhaa imp o ed iden i y checks, deli e y con i ma ion emained inconsis en .
• In o ma ion & Communica ion: Sys ems lacked eal- ime in eg a ion and had la ency in bene icia y
con i ma ion.
• Moni o ing: O e - eliance on e ospec i e audi s unde mined p oac i e aud con ol.
4.2. COBIT 2019 Findings
• APO: F agmen ed owne ship o da abases be ween UIDAI, NPCI, and OMCs led o da a inconsis ency.
• DSS: Ope a ional logs we e incomple e, wi h weak ansac ion aceabili y.
• MEA: Mac o KPIs exis ed, bu ailed o cap u e bene icia y-le el i egula i ies.
4.3. Fo ensic Analy ics Resul s
• Ghos Accoun s: O e 35 million ake accoun s elimina ed ia Aadhaa deduplica ion (PRS, 2022).
• Re ill Pa e n Ou lie s: Sha p e ill su ges in May and Oc obe 2024 signaled hoa ding.
• In oice I egula i ies: ML-based analysis lagged deli e y-paymen misma ches.
Wo ld Jou nal o Ad anced Resea ch and Re iews, 2025, 26(02), 2007-2011
2009
Table 1 Case Mapping – Example: Odisha LPG F aud (2019)
Case Elemen
Mapped COSO
Componen
Mapped COBIT
Domain
Iden i ied Con ol Gap
Ghos bene icia ies
egis e ed by deale s
Con ol En i onmen , Risk
Assessmen
APO, DSS
Weak bene icia y onboa ding con ol
and poo agen o e sigh
Re ill booking h ough
p oxy phone numbe s
Con ol Ac i i ies
DSS
Lack o wo- ac o o Aadhaa -
au hen ica ed e ill booking
Deli e y con i ma ion no
en o ced
Moni o ing
MEA
Absence o GPS- agged deli e y
e i ica ion
Subsidy disbu sed p e-
deli e y
In o & Communica ion,
Moni o ing
DSS, MEA
Dashboa d sync delays; subsidy
igge s no dependen on deli e y
4.4. Visuals and Tables
Figu e 1 Ghos LPG Accoun s Remo ed (2011–2017)
Figu e 2 Mon hly Re ill Pa e n - May & Oc obe 2024
Wo ld Jou nal o Ad anced Resea ch and Re iews, 2025, 26(02), 2007-2011
2010
Figu e 3 LPG Subsidy Deli e y Flowcha
Table 2 Mapping o Con ol Failu es o COSO, COBIT, and Analy ic Techniques
Con ol Failu e
COSO
Componen (s)
COBIT 2019
Domain(s)
Fo ensic Technique
Impac
Se e i y
Fake Bene icia y IDs
Con ol En ., Risk
Assess.
APO, DSS
Fuzzy Ma ching, KYC
Deduplica ion
High
Undeli e ed
Cylinde s
Con ol Ac i i ies,
Moni o ing
DSS, MEA
GPS Ve i ica ion, Bene icia y SMS
Ale s
High
In oice
Manipula ion
Con ol Ac i i ies,
In oComm
DSS, APO
In oice-Paymen Analysis, ML
Ou lie Flags
Medium
Subsidy Paid
Wi hou Deli e y
Moni o ing,
In oComm
DSS, MEA
Pa e n De ia ion De ec ion, KPI
Dashboa ds
High
F agmen ed
Da abase Owne ship
In o ma ion &
Communica ion
APO
Da a In eg a ion Gaps De ec ed
Th ough Audi Log Analysis
Medium
Re ill Pa e n
Ou lie s
Risk Assessmen ,
Moni o ing
MEA
Time-Se ies Analysis o Mon hly
Re ill Volumes (Anomaly
De ec ion)
Medium
Wo ld Jou nal o Ad anced Resea ch and Re iews, 2025, 26(02), 2007-2011
2011
Lack o Real-Time
Ale s
Moni o ing
MEA
Audi T ail Moni o ing, Dashboa d
La ency Re iews
High
5. Conclusion
India's pe oleum subsidy ini ia i es ha e shown signi ican ad ancemen h ough echnology-d i en e o ms like
Aadhaa -enabled DBTL and PAHAL. Howe e , pe sis en weaknesses in IT go e nance, eal- ime moni o ing, and c oss
pla o m in eg a ion con inue o enable aud and ope a ional ine iciencies. This s udy iden i ies s uc u al and
sys emic ulne abili ies including
• Remo al o o e 35 million illegi ima e LPG accoun s.
• Lack o eal- ime deli e y alida ion.
• Incomple e audi ails and agmen ed da abase owne ship.
To add ess hese, he ollowing policy and con ol in e en ions a e p oposed:
• Real- ime anomaly de ec ion dashboa ds wi h p oac i e ale ing.
• COSO-complian end- o-end Risk and Con ol Ma ices.
• COBIT-d i en IT go e nance en o cemen wi h cen alized da a owne ship.
• Deploymen o AI/ML algo i hms o ansac ion moni o ing.
• Geo-mapping o consump ion da a o iden i y aud clus e s.
• Na ionally synch onized, dynamically upda ed bene icia y egis ies.
Such a mul i ace ed s a egy in eg a ing go e nance, analy ics, and au oma ion can no only s eng hen India’s subsidy
deli e y mechanisms bu also o e a global empla e o subsidy e o m in o he eme ging economies.
Re e ences
[1] (Ba nwal, P. (2014). Cu bing leakages in public p og ams: E idence om uel subsidy e o ms in India.
In e na ional G ow h Cen e.
[2] Cen e o Global De elopmen . (2017). *How India used e idence o e o m i s uel subsidies*.
h ps://www.cgde .o g. Accessed Ap il 2025.
[3] COSO. (2013). *In e nal Con ol–In eg a ed F amewo k*. Commi ee o Sponso ing O ganiza ions o he
T eadway Commission.
[4] Deccan He ald. (2019). CAG exposes LPG e ill aud unde PMUY.
[5] ISACA. (2019). *COBIT 2019 F amewo k: Go e nance and Managemen Objec i es*. In o ma ion Sys ems Audi
and Con ol Associa ion.
[6] Mi al, N., Mukhe jee, A., & Gelb, A. (2017). Fuel Subsidy Re o m in De eloping Coun ies: Di ec Bene i T ans e
o LPG Cooking Gas Subsidy in India. CGD Policy Pape 114.
[7] PRS Legisla i e Resea ch. (2022). *Demand o G an s – Pe oleum and Na u al Gas*. h ps://p sindia.o g.
Accessed Ap il 2025.
[8] Shenoy, A. (2016). Sa ings om LPG subsidy ans e : The ac s behind he claim. Business Today.
[9] Times o India. (2024). Gas agency scam: Aadhaa misused o Ujjwala aud.
[10] Nozick, M., Razo, C., & Hincapie, C. (2018). Subsidy design and en -seeking in de eloping coun ies. Wo ld Bank
Wo king Pape .
[11] Minis y o Pe oleum and Na u al Gas. (2023). *Pe o mance Re iew o LPG Subsidy P og ams*. Go e nmen o
India. h ps://mopng.go .in. Accessed Ap il 2025.
[12] NITI Aayog. (2024). *Blockchain Applica ions in Public Wel a e Dis ibu ion*. h ps://ni i.go .in. Accessed Ap il
2025.
