AK Antony calls for timely, transparent defence procurement

Defence minister AK Antony today called for a "timely, transparent and judicious" process to procure weapons and equipment for the armed forces. Inaugurating the biennial three-day Defence Accounts Controllers Conference here, Antony said: "Defence expenditure and procurement issues are complex and time-consuming and have a direct bearing on our national security.

"We have tried to infuse more transparency and efficiency into our procedures and systems. It is my firm belief that expenditure of public money must have an appropriate system of checks and balances." He said the Defence Accounts Department had facilitated procurement of essential items for the defence forces and the capital expenditure utilised last year had been an all-time record.

Comptroller and Auditor General of India Vinod Rai said since Defence Finance related to a sensitive national security concern, the keyword for its success was the outcome and not simply accounting. Others present on the occasion were Army chief general VK Singh and scientific advisor to the defence minister VK Saraswat.......................................Read More

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