Rajnath Singh orders shift to real time defence financial monitoring, faster pension services
Defence Accounts Department’s 279th Annual Day. (Image courtesy: X/@rajnathsingh)
New Delhi: The defence minister, Rajnath Singh, has called for real time monitoring of defence finances and greater integration of the financial systems of the Army, Navy and Air Force. He also stressed maximum digitization, automation and transparency, saying that updated data would help in faster and better decision-making.
“The time has come for a real time review of balances and not just an ‘annual review of balance’. Real time data will ensure timely and informed decision-making,” Rajnath Singh said at the defence accounts department’s 279th annual day celebration in New Delhi. In a post on X, he said, “Maximum digitization, maximum automation and maximum transparency is our goal, and we are moving in that direction.”
The defence minister also launched new systems to improve how defence expenditure is recorded, monitored and audited. The initiatives include ‘Saksham’, which will focus on auditing and payment systems, and the national compilation system (NCS) for defence, which will act as a single source for accounting and compiling defence expenditure.
Rajnath Singh also called for financial information from the three services to be better connected, with real time updates to management information system data. He urged the defence accounts department to move from an “annual review of balances” to an “any time review of balances”.
Singh also highlighted the need to improve the handling of pension cases of retired military personnel. He said pension-related grievances should be dealt with in a “fair, sensitive and responsible” manner, particularly when they involve legitimate dues and service rights.
For this, Rajnath Singh suggested using technology to make grievance redressal faster and easier. He said the Sparsh pension system could be supported by a conversational AI system that allows pensioners to raise and track grievances through chat, SMS, WhatsApp, email and phone calls.
He also called for better quality audits, accurate digital records and faster resolution of pension grievances and court cases. “Our approach must be firm, fair, sensitive and responsible, especially when dealing with the legitimate dues and service rights of those who have devoted their lives to defending the nation,” he said.
The defence accounts department operates through various controllers across the country for budget allocation and expenditure tracking. The chief of defence staff (CDS), General NS Raja Subramnani; Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, the chief of the naval staff; the chief of the Army staff, General Dhiraj Seth; defence secretary, Rajesh Kumar Singh, and the vice-chief of the Air staff, Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit were present at the event.
