Look beyond financial aspects and focus on overall defence scenario: President Mukherjee to IDAS probationers

President of India with IDAS probationers (2015 batch)

THE focus of the Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS) officers should not just be the financial aspects, but they must think for overall defence scenario in the country, said President of India Pranab Mukherjee when a group of IDAS probationers of 2015 batch called on him at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday. Significantly, Mukherjee in his long political career handled both the defence and finance portfolios. President further told the probationers that as watchdogs, Indian Defence Accounts Service officers need to be careful in…

discharging their duty of scrutinizing financial expenditure. He further said that the responsibilities of the defence accounts cadre have always been onerous, and in the scenario of ever-increasing defence outlay, their responsibilities are only bound to increase.

President of India also congratulated the probationers for having succeeded in the civil services examination, one of the toughest examinations in the country. He said that the Defence Accounts department, established 267 years ago, was then known as the military accounts department -- according to a statement issued by Rashtrapati Bhavan. The department remained under the administrative control of the ministry of finance till 1983. Mukherjee was then India’s finance ministry under the prime ministership of Mrs Indira Gandhi. On the introduction of the integrated financial advice scheme, the IDAS then came under the control of the defence ministry.