President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday stressed on the need for modernising the defence forces as a group of probationers of the Indian Defence Accounts Service called on him.The probationers are from the 2015 batch of Indian Defence Accounts Service.Talking to the group, the President congratulated the Indian Defence Accounts Service officers for having succeeded in the civil services exam, one of the toughest examinations in the country."The President said that the Indian armed forces have a huge responsibility to defend the nation. To achieve this objective, our armed forces should modernise," a statement said.Mukherjee, who is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, said that the responsibility of the Defence Account cadre has always been onerous and in the scenario of ever increasing defence outlay, their responsibilities are only bound to increase.
The President told the officers their focus should not be only on the financial aspects but also on the overall defence scenario and their role while rendering financial advice should be to facilitate the process.Mukherjee also said that as watchdogs, they need to be careful in discharging their duty of scrutinising financial expenditure.Established 267 years ago, the Defence Account department was then known as the military accounts department.This department remained under the administrative control of the Ministry of Finance till 1983.On the introduction of the integrated financial advice scheme, it came under the control of the Defence Ministry.