Judicious use of financial resources key to boosting combat readiness : Rajnath Singh

New Delhi : Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday exhorted Defence Accounts Department (DAD) to ensure judicious use of financial resources through quick and transparent decision making, terming it the “key” to strengthen the combat readiness of the Armed Forces.

Inaugurating the two-day Controllers’ Conference of DAD here, the Minister described the officials of the department as the sentinels of the defence finance system who play their part in nation building by managing the allotted funds with financial prudence.

Rajnath Singh called upon the DAD to further develop its IT capabilities and financial knowledge; bolster the internal vigilance mechanism and enhance the skills of its workforce to more efficiently discharge its duties.

“If there is a doubt in the working of any officer, it should be reviewed immediately. Complaints should be settled immediately. If grievances are pending, provision should be made for their weekly or monthly audit and action should be taken,” he said.

The DAD handles the budget allocated to the Ministry of Defence (MoD), which translates into pay and allowances of personnel, payment to pensioners, processing of financial advice cases for various procurements and processing of first and third party claims, apart from the other auxiliary activities, including internal audit function.

In Union Budget 2022-23, MoD has been allocated a total budget of Rs 5.25 lakh crore, including Rs 1.19 lakh crore for pensions.The agenda points of the conference include Public Finance Management: Towards a system of faceless transactions; IFA System: An aid to effective decision making; Efficiency & Performance Audit: From Compliance to Assurance Framework; Improving Service Delivery; Challenges in Human Resource Management and Sustaining Major IT systems developed by the DAD.

Rajnath Singh laid special emphasis on ensuring timely payments to beneficiaries, i.e., soldiers, pensioners and third parties. He hoped that the session on aPublic Finance Management: Towards a system of faceless transactions’ will pave the way for transparency in defence financial transactions.

He exuded confidence that the conference will further improve the services of the DAD; bring transparency in its working and strengthen Human Resource Management.On the occasion, the Defence Minister released a stamp and a special cover envelope commemorating 275 years of the DAD.