Defence Minister Inaugurates Controllers’ Conference 2025

The Defence Accounts Department (DAD) hosted the Controllers’ Conference 2025 from July 7-9 at Dr S.K. Kothari Auditorium in DRDO Bhawan, New Delhi. Inaugurated by defence minister Rajnath Singh in the presence of top military and civilian leadership including chief of defence staff Gen. Anil Chauhan, the three service chiefs, defence secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, financial adviser (defence services) S.G. Dastidar, and controller general of defence accounts Dr Mayank Sharma, the conference turned into a flagship forum for policy dialogue, strategic review, and institutional innovation by bringing together top leadership from DAD, civil services, academia, think tanks, and stakeholders across the defence & finance sectors. It served as a vital platform for evaluating challenges, initiating reform, and advancing the role of financial governance in defence preparedness.

The theme of this year’s conference, ‘Transforming Financial Advice, Payment, Audit and Accounting through Defence Finance and Economics,’ reflected a paradigm shift within the department repositioning DAD from a finance and accounts body to a future-ready institution focused on Defence Finance and Economics. This transformation, guided by the strategic vision articulated by the defence minister on 1 October 2024, is internally driven, inclusive, and aligned with emerging national security imperatives. The transition is anchored in DAD’s new mission statement and motto ‘Alert, Agile, Adaptive’ which was formally released during the event.

The conference featured eight high-level business sessions (manan satras), covering areas such as budget and accounts reform, internal audit restructuring, collaborative research, pricing innovation, and capacity building. These sessions will explore the evolving role of Integrated Financial Advisors (IFAs) in balancing fiscal prudence with strategic support for a competitive and self-reliant defence industry.

Managing a defence budget of Rs 6.8 lakh crore including Rs 1.7 lakh crore dedicated to pensions, DAD plays a pivotal role in payroll, pension disbursement, audit, procurement pricing, and strategic financial advice. Over the past year, the department has made significant strides in digital transformation, with flagship reforms like:

Sampurna: An AI-driven, end-to-end automation system for defence procurement and payments, enhancing transparency and agility.

Sparsh: Now serving over 32 lakh pensioners, this digital platform has redefined pension delivery with transparency and accessibility.

Sparsh Van: A mobile outreach innovation launched in Tamil Nadu, delivering pension services directly to veterans’ doorsteps.

e-Raksha Awaas: Automated recovery of over Rs 500 crore in rent, generating Rs 2,700+ crore in rent bills.

Defence Travel System (DTS) and AI-based procurement tools: Building a smarter, data-centric financial network for defence.

Since the last Controllers’ Conference, DAD has conducted 206 outreach programmes and established over 200 service centres across India strengthening last-mile delivery and stakeholder engagement.

Training and upskilling remain central to the transformation, with institutions like NADFM Pune and CENTRAD Delhi driving officer education in defence economics, data analytics, and digital resource management. DAD’s audit functions are also evolving into advanced Management Information Systems (MIS) that provide early risk indicators, performance benchmarks, and decision-support frameworks.

Aligned with the MoD’s declaration of 2025 as the Year of Reform, the conference yielded actionable outcomes to fortify India’s defence financial architecture—driven by Aatmanirbhar Bharat and committed to maximum governance with minimum government. The deliberations lay a robust fiscal foundation to strengthen national defence capabilities and ensure that financial systems remain agile, responsive, and strategically aligned with India’s long-term security goals.