Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said here out of a total of 32 lakh defence pensioners, 30 lakh have been successfully linked to the SPARSH {System for Pension Administration (Raksha)} portal. He made this observation during the 277th Annual Day celebrations of Defence Accounts Department (DAD) at Bharat Mandapam.
While commending DAD’s focus on technology adoption, the defence minister asserted that despite numerous challenges, the department has been successful in the implementation of this web-based system, which processes pension claims and credits the pension directly into bank accounts of defence pensioners without any external intermediary.
He commended the efforts of DAD towards modernisation and strengthening of the country’s defence ecosystem through optimum utilisation of resources, efficiency and transparency in accounting and adoption of latest technologies. He lauded the department for focusing on every little detail, which leads to necessary improvements in defence related policies and proposals.
Reflecting on the progress achieved in the defence sector in the last few years, Rajnath Singh stated that there was a time when acquisitions were mainly dependent on imports, and the positive impact of defence expenditure on the economy was very limited. He added that due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Government’s efforts to attain self-reliance, India is today seen as a defence exporter.
The defence minister urged the DAD to prepare a roadmap to make the department a ‘Centre of Excellence’ in the field of defence finance and economics. He also batted for establishing a robust and comprehensive data management system that gives analytical reports to the government on the impact of defence expenditure on the country’s economy, such as the contribution of defence vendors in revenue generation and employment generation. This will prove to be helpful in establishing a holistic policy regime, which would develop a sense of ‘Whole of the Government approach’, he added.
Tracing its roots to the appointment of the Military Pay Master in 1747, the DAD has continuously re-invented itself to provide exemplary services to the Armed Forces, and in turn to the Nation, in the fields of Internal Audit, Accounting, Financial Advice and Defence Pensions Management.
