Minister of State for Defence Dr Subhash Bhamre has appreciated the Information Technology initiatives of the Defence Accounts Department (DAD) that are in tune with the Government thrust on Digital India and e-governance. He was speaking at a function to mark 271st Annual Day of DAD here today.

He particularly admired the two initiatives of the Department i.e., Defence Travel System (DTS) and the Comprehensive Pension Package (CPP) for Defence Pensioners, earlier announced in the Union Budget 2017-18. Dr Bhamre said that he was hopeful that the department would meet the objective set out in the budget speech for the two projects.

Dr Bhamre assured that the Department was committed to reaching out to each and every pensioner ensuring timely and correct disbursement of pension to them. Through ‘Aashrya’ (Pension Disbursement Project), the department fulfils its mandate of timely and accurate disbursement of pension to the defence pensioner’s/family pensioner’s/defence civilian pensioners through the Defence Pension Disbursement Offices (DPDOs). The department has also launched a new project ‘Suvinay’ developed in house, to transform and ensure seamless data transfer for pension sanction and generation of Electronic PPOs (Pension Payment Orders). The CPP will ensure timely and seamless sanction and disbursement to Defence Pensioners with a new set of dedicated service centres.

Speaking on the issue of One Rank One Pension (OROP), Dr Bhamre said, the department has ensured timely payment of OROP to the tune of Rs 9,231.26 crore to around 20.42 lakh pensioners. The Department has also completed pension revision as per the multiplication factor recommended by the 7th Pay Commission and released arrears of Rs 6,783.95 crore.

On the issue of DTS, Dr Bhamre said, the Defence Travel System or e-Ticketing project of the department has done away with the most cumbersome management and control of the Railway Warrants, etc. The DTS is a secure electronic web-based system to replace the costly and time consuming system of booking of railways ticket through warrants. Out of approximately 10,700 units 5,600 units are on board. Average rail ticket booking per day is 16,000.” Around 10.7 lakhs profile have been created on DTS portal. However, need is to bring all defence units on board. For which concerted efforts from Services is also required.

On this occasion, Dr Bhamre also presented the ‘Raksha Mantri Awards for Excellence’ to the officials of the Department selected for their outstanding contribution in the areas of Procurement process streamlining in Air Force, Dynamic website for salary to soldiers in Army Medical Corps and e-audit of OROP.

The occasion was marked by the presence of Defence Secretary Shri Sanjay Mitra, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa, Financial Advisor (Defence Services) Shri Sunil Kohli, senior officials from the Army, Navy and Air Force, Ministry of Defence as well as heads of Paramilitary Forces. The occasion also witnessed the screening of a video song dedicated to soldiers of the Indian Armed Forces composed by eminent Carnatic singers ‘Trichur Brothers’.

The Department traces back its history to 1747 when the first Pay Master was appointed for paying the Garrison at Fort William, Kolkata. The Department was re-designated as Defence Accounts Department from Military Accounts Department in 1951.

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