India needs stronger armed forces with modern equipment in order to become a developed nation by 2047, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said Sunday. “There should be a fine balance between the demands of services and the allocation of available resources,” he said in Delhi during the launch of several digital initiatives of the Defence Accounts Department (DAD) during its 276th annual day celebrations. He said the DAD is the guardian of defence finance and said there is a need to boost the internal vigilance mechanism to immediately detect and review any suspicious activity, which will help in dealing with the problem quickly while increasing the trust of the people in the department. The Defence Minister suggested the creation of an in-house standing committee that can research and study market forces to provide high-quality market intelligence to field officers, while appreciating the organisation’s efforts towards enhancing the country's defence capabilities through a transparent and efficient financial system. “Big banks and financial institutions develop in-house economic intelligence and research teams. On similar lines, the DAD needs to develop an in-house team for market research and intelligence,” he said. “Our wants are unlimited, but the available resources are limited,” he said, adding that the DAD ensures use of resources judiciously while extracting optimum output. The digital initiatives launched during the event includes an integrated defence finance dashboard for the Ministry of Defence — SARANSH (Summary of Accounts, Budget and Expenditure for Raksha Mantralaya) and BISWAS (Bill Information and Work Analysis System and e-Raksha Awaas). Praising the DAD for coming out with numerous digital initiatives, he asked it to develop its professional capabilities to tackle the various evolving complexities. He urged that the department should collaborate with institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Managements and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India to develop and adopt customised training modules for officers. He also recommended collaboration with industry associations and business schools for extensive study of market conditions. The defence minister said there is a need to pay attention to the requirement to buy a product in case a similar product of equal or greater effectiveness is available in the market at a lower cost, adding that this understanding will help increase the quality of financial advice.
