A three-day international conference on Defence Finance begins in New Delhi

New Delhi: A three-day international conference on Defence Finance & Economics began in New Delhi on April 12, 2023. It is being organised by the Ministry of Defence (Finance).

The Conference will witness the participation of eminent policy makers, academics and government officials from India and abroad, including from USA, UK, Japan, Australia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh & Kenya.

It will provide a platform to them to share their insights and experiences on Defence Finance and Economics in the context of evolving security challenges and policies globally.

The conference aims to foster dialogue and collaboration among the participants and contribute to the country's defence readiness with optimum financial resources and effective implementation of the Defence Budget.

Inaugurating the conference, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh stressed on the need to devise innovative methods to maximise the value of money spent on the security needs of the country, terming a robust defence finance system as the backbone of a strong military.

Singh asserted that a legal and procedural defence-finance framework is an integral part of a mature state system, which ensures prudent management of the defence expenditure.

The Minister stated that such a framework, which includes expenditure control as per guidelines, financial advice by professionals, audit, payment authentication mechanism, etc., ensures that the defence spending is well within the allocated budget and the full value of money is realised.

He emphasised that while the Armed Forces require a superstructure of defence ecosystem, involving R&D organisations, industries, soldier welfare organisations, etc., they also need a well-funded system with a robust architecture to ensure the optimum and judicious use of financial resources.

Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Pande, Secretary (Ex-Servicemen Welfare) Vijoy Kumar Singh, Secretary, Department of Defence R&D & Chairman DRDO Dr Samir V Kamat, Financial Advisor (Defence Services) Rasika Chaube, Additional CGDAs Praveen Kumar & SG Dastidar and delegates from within in the country & abroad were present on the occasion.

(Defence Watch– India's Defence Business News centre that places the spotlight on Defence Manufacturing, Defence Technology, Strategy and Military affairs is on Twitter. Follow us here and stay updated.)