Defence Accounts Department to host Controllers’ Conference 2025 in New Delhi

Rajnath Singh

The Defence Accounts Department (DAD) will hold Controllers’ Conference 2025 from July 7–9 at the Dr SK Kothari Auditorium, DRDO Bhawan, New Delhi.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will inaugurate the conference on July 7 in the presence of top defence and civilian leadership, including Chief of Defence Staff General 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.

This year’s theme, ‘Transforming Financial Advice, Payment, Audit and Accounting through Defence Finance and Economics’, marks a strategic shift in DAD’s role—from a traditional finance and accounts entity to a modern institution focused on defence finance, economics, and governance. The conference will also see the launch of DAD’s new Mission Statement and Motto: ‘Alert, Agile, Adaptive’.

The event will feature eight high-level sessions—termed Manan Satras—focused on key reforms in budgeting, auditing, collaborative research, pricing strategies, and capacity building. These discussions aim to enhance the role of Integrated Financial Advisors (IFAs) in supporting a self-reliant defence ecosystem.

Managing a defence budget of Rs 26.8 lakh crore, DAD has implemented major digital initiatives in the past year such as SAMPURNA, an AI-driven procurement platform; SPARSH, which serves over 32 lakh pensioners; and e-Raksha Awaas, which helped recover Rs 500 crore in rent.

The department has also expanded its outreach with over 200 new service centres and 206 programmes nationwide. Training initiatives through NADFM Pune and CENTRAD Delhi are equipping officers in data analytics and defence economics.