Rajnath lauds Defence Accounts Dept for ensuring fiscal prudence

Singh further said that the department not only ensures fiscal prudence and transparency, but also strengthens operational readiness by enabling timely availability of resources to the military.

Illustrating his point, the Defence Minister said at the half-way mark of the current financial year, orders had been ‘booked’ to spend 50 percent of the capital budget of the Ministry of Defence.

“As of September 30, the half-way mark of the fiscal, 50 percent of the capital budget expenditure has already been booked, which reflects efficient utilisation of financial resources,” he added.

The Annual Budget had sanctioned Rs 1,80,000 crore as capital expenditure during the ongoing fiscal. The ‘Capital Budget’ is for buying new ships, planes, guns, jets and engines, among other items.

He also congratulated it for achieving 100 per cent utilisation in the previous financial year and expressed confidence that the same momentum would continue this year as well.

Acknowledging the increasing complexity of modern, technology-driven warfare, Singh called for a renewed push for research and development in the field of defence. He also called on the Accounts Department to create an ecosystem that supports R&D in defence.

“As custodians of the defence budget, your role in enabling and encouraging R&D is vital for building the future capabilities of our armed forces,” he added.