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The fourth Synergy Conference between the Indian Army and Defence Accounts Department (DAD) was held in New Delhi on Tuesday.
The day-long conference was co-chaired by Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS) Lt Gen BS Raju and Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA) Rajnish Kumar and attended by senior officers of Indian Army and DAD. According to the Ministry of Defence, the primary agenda of the conference included deliberations on the Agnipath scheme and the schedule for timely implementation of a system for pay and allowances for Agniveers. Other agenda items included improving the functioning of Pay and Accounts Offices (PAOs) for better service delivery to junior commissioned officers/other ranks of the Indian Army. Concrete action plans for the future were devised in consultation with senior officers of both sides. The CGDA shared the vision of the department to leverage the power of technology to improve service delivery for the Armed Forces and deploy innovative business process re-engineering to fundamentally change the system of bill-processing and payments. CGDA Kumar outlined the various initiatives of DAD such as DARPAN (Defence Accounts Receipt, Payment and Analysis) and the upcoming Centralised Pay System. He also highlighted the support needed from the Army side for successful achievement of the objectives. The VCOAS Lt Gen Raju appreciated the various initiatives being implemented by DAD. He urged the senior officers of the Indian Army and DAD to work in close coordination to solve various issues of internal audit and payment. He spoke of the need to identify the costing and expenditure profile for the units and formations to help aid decision-making and better management of defence budget. Lt Gen Raju further recognised the important role played by Indian Defence Accounts Service officers in guiding the Indian Army at arriving at critical financial decisions and ensuring financial discipline through the accounting and audit function. The Agnipath Scheme, which was approved by the cabinet on June 14, was launched in an effort to bring a change in the recruitment process of the Armed Forces. With the new military recruitment scheme facing criticism, the Centre decided to grant a one-time waiver and on June 16 announced that the upper age limit for recruitment via Agnipath Scheme has been extended to 23 years from 21 years. The Ministry of Defence, in its statement in June 2022, said that the Agnipath scheme has been designed to enable a youthful profile of the Armed Forces. (ANI)
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