Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh launched a series of digital and financial management initiatives of the Defence Accounts Department (DAD) during the celebration of its 279th Annual Day at DRDO Bhawan, New Delhi, on October 1, 2026.
The occasion marked nearly three centuries of service by the Defence Accounts Department. During his address, the Raksha Mantri commended the contribution of DAD to defence financial audit and management, describing the department as the backbone of the country’s defence preparedness.
Calling for greater integration of the financial systems of the Army, Navy and Air Force, Rajnath Singh emphasised the need for maximum digitisation, automation and transparency. He stressed the importance of real-time updating of Management Information System data to support timely and informed decision-making.
The Raksha Mantri called for a transition from “Annual Review of Balances” to “Any Time Review of Balances”, with real-time financial information enabling continuous monitoring of the defence budget.
He also commended SAKSHAM, the Defence Accounts Department’s project for digitising and integrating the Defence accounting and payment ecosystem. The system is hosted on a secure dedicated data centre and operates on the DAD WAN network.
SAKSHAM uses a technology stack with secure role-based access, enhanced validations and scalability, supporting the department’s move towards “One Nation, One Function, One Application”. Rajnath Singh also appreciated its integration with the Indian Army Financial Information System for budget, approval and bill data.
The Raksha Mantri highlighted the achievement of near 100 per cent expenditure during the financial year 2025–26 and credited the joint efforts of DAD and all three Services for achieving the milestone.
Referring to the success of SPARSH data cleaning, Rajnath Singh suggested the automation of grievance redressal through a Conversational AI ecosystem covering chat, SMS, WhatsApp, email and phone calls. He also emphasised quality audit, digital data cleaning and prompt resolution of grievances and court cases.
“Our approach must be firm, fair, sensitive and responsible, especially when dealing with the legitimate dues and service rights of those who have devoted their lives to defending the nation,” the Raksha Mantri said.
He also stressed the early implementation of SAMPURNA, envisaged as a fully automated, end-to-end revenue procurement system. The system is intended to leverage data analytics, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to provide a decision-support mechanism.
During the event, the Raksha Mantri unveiled three major initiatives aimed at strengthening the integration of Financial Information Systems of the Defence Forces, improving accounting and tracking of defence expenditure and operationalising the Treasury Single Account system in the Ministry of Defence.
One of the initiatives was the integration of SAKSHAM with the Indian Army Financial Information System (IAFIS). The integration enables digital transmission of budget, sanction and bill information between the two organisations.
The integration is aimed at advancing the digitisation of the Defence payments ecosystem by enabling real-time sharing of information relating to bill status and budget balances, while supporting completely paperless processing of bills.
The Treasury Single Account system in the Ministry of Defence was also inaugurated by the Raksha Mantri for Just-In-Time release of funds to autonomous bodies under the Government of India. The system has been operationalised through the Payment Routing and Integrated System Management platform and is fully integrated with RBI eKUBER.
The TSA system is intended to facilitate improved grant management for autonomous bodies under the Ministry of Defence and provide greater visibility of accounting and expenditure.
Rajnath Singh also launched the revamped National Compilation System for Defence. The NCS serves as the single source for accounting and compilation of Defence expenditure in India.
The Ministry of Defence operates under a financial delegation framework requiring budget allocation and expenditure tracking across various Controllers of the Defence Accounts Department. The revamped NCS has been redesigned on a new technical architecture to provide accurate budget reporting and expenditure monitoring.
The system will facilitate granular reporting to the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Defence, Service Headquarters and Field Controllers, supporting policy planning and budget management.
The Raksha Mantri Awards for Excellence 2026 were also presented during the event to recognise outstanding achievements by teams and individuals in implementing key reforms and projects. The awards recognised innovation, professionalism and efficiency in defence financial management, as well as contributions towards strengthening institutional capacity and transparency.
The awards also acknowledged the role of DAD officials across the country in the digitisation of the Annual Review of Balances and implementation of initiatives including SAKSHAM and SAMAR-SETU.
SAMAR-SETU is a centralised application for management of pay and allowances of Agniveers of the Indian Army. Operating from the Central Agniveer Pay and Accounts Office, the system manages the pay accounts of more than 2.3 lakh Agniveers through system-driven automated processes.
Three publications were also released during DAD Day 2026: the Comprehensive Statistical Handbook on Defence Expenditure 2026, Raksha Lekha Bharati and the Market Intelligence Report 2025-2026. A film showcasing the success of the System for Pension Administration (Raksha), SPARSH, was also screened.
Addressing the gathering, Controller General of Defence Accounts Alka Nangia Arora highlighted the major initiatives undertaken by the Defence Accounts Department during the year, including strides in the centralisation and digitisation of its core functions of internal audit, payment and accounting, financial advice and management of Defence pensions.
The event was attended by Chief of Defence Staff General NS Raja Subramani, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, Chief of Army Staff General Dhiraj Seth, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, Secretary (Defence Finance) Vishvajit Sahay and Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, along with senior officials of the Ministry of Defence.
The 279th Annual Day celebrations highlighted the Defence Accounts Department’s continuing transition towards greater digitisation, integrated financial systems, automated processes and real-time financial management, with the initiatives launched during the event aimed at strengthening transparency, efficiency and informed decision-making in defence financial administration.
