Three-day International Conference on Defence Finance concludes in New Delhi

New Delhi: The three-day International Conference on Defence Finance and Economics (ICDFE-2023) concluded in New Delhi on April 14, 2023. Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari was the Chief Guest at the valedictory session of the conference. Financial Adviser (Defence Services) Rasika Chaube, Additional CGDA SG Dastidar and other senior officers were also present.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had inaugurated the conference on April 12, 2023. Organised by Ministry of Defence (Finance), it witnessed participation of over 350 eminent policy makers, academics and government officials from within the country and abroad.

During the session 'Defence Strategies & Economics', the Chief of Defence Staff emphasised the necessity of aligning economic growth with defence spending. He advocated for civil military integration and financial discipline in the Armed Forces and urged for financial prudence in utilising the defence budget.

Delegates from USA, UK, Japan, Australia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Kenya attended the conference, across eight business sessions.

Discussions ranged from international perspective on strategic allocation of defence budget, the importance of human resource management in Defence and the significance of defence spending for a state's national security. 

The panelists also discussed the defence finance perspective, including the significance of defence procurement and timely payments including the implementation of a faceless bill processing and payment system that the Defence Accounts Department is currently implementing.

The eminent speakers included Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar, Defence Secretary Shri Giridhar Aramane, Finance Secretary TV Somanathan, Secretary (Ex-Servicemen Welfare) Vijoy Kumar Singh, Secretary, Department of Defence R&D & Chairman DRDO Dr Samir V Kamat and Comptroller and Auditor General of India Girish Chandra Murmu. 

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