India Needs Stronger Armed Forces, Modern Equipment To Become Developed Nation By 2047: Singh

India needs stronger armed forces with modern equipment to become a developed nation by 2047 and effective utilisation of financial resources is the key, said Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday in Delhi Cantt.

While unveiling several digital initiatives of the Defence Accounts Department (DAD) during its 276th Annual Day celebrations, he said that the government has set a target to make India a developed nation by 2047 and the DAD will play a crucial role in it.

“Therefore, it is necessary to effectively utilise the financial resources available to us. There should be a fine balance between the demands of services and the allocation of available resources,” he said.

He also described the DAD as the guardian of defence finance and appreciated its efforts towards enhancing the country’s defence capabilities through a transparent and efficient system. Terming accounting as extremely important for an individual, organisation and nation as a whole, he said, “Our wants are unlimited, but the available resources are limited." 

Singh exhorted the officials of the DAD to develop their professional capabilities to deal with the complexities arising from the constantly evolving times. He urged them to collaborate with reputed institutions like the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) to develop and adopt customised training modules, as per requirements.

The minister termed financial advice as one of the most important tasks of the DAD. He urged them to keep in mind two broad aspects while extending financial advice- a realistic assessment of the demand of the user agency and an understanding of the product’s market. 

He stressed the need to pay attention to the fact whether there is a need to buy a product or not and whether a similar product of equal or greater effectiveness is available somewhere else in the market at a lower cost. This understanding will further increase the quality of financial advice, he said.

To develop such an understanding, Singh suggested the creation of an in-house mechanism, a standing committee of experienced people who can research and study market forces and provide high-quality market intelligence to the field officers. 

“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. 

He also recommended collaboration with industry associations, business schools, etc. for extensive study of the market conditions.