The Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan enhanced the competitiveness in the Indian Defence sector engaging manufactures and suppliers all over the country. Now, to keep the transaction pace at par with this growth the Defence Accounts Department (DAD) under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has developed an IT (Information Technology)-enabled payment and accounting system called PRABAL.
- This system will ensure domestic defence suppliers get payments without any delay.
Point to be noted:
Among the efforts under Digital India by DAD, earlier it has developed the Central Pay Package System to make salary and other payment disbursements to the Defence personnel and civilians working under MoD completely paperless.
About DAD:
DAD is mandated to audit, give financial advice, make payment and accounting of all charges pertaining to all organizations under MoD, viz. Army, Navy, Air Force, Indian Coast Guard (ICG), Border Roads Organisation (BRO), Ordnance Factories, Director General of Defence Estates (DGDE), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) among others.
- It observes its foundation day on 1st of October every year.
- It is headed by Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA), currently Rajnish Kumar.
MoD raises income limit of differently-abled Dependents for family pension
MoD enhanced the income criteria for granting family pensions to the differently-abled dependent children and siblings w.e.f. February 8, 2022. This increase will cover organizations under MoD.
Current Scenario:
At present, a disabled child or sibling of a dead pensioner is eligible for family pension if his or her monthly income from sources other than the family pension is not more than Rs 9,000 along with the dearness allowance (DA).
Amended Scenario:
Now, with an increase in income limit such child/sibling is eligible for family pension for life, if his/her overall income from sources other than family pension remains less than the entitled family pension i.e. 30% of the last pay drawn by the deceased government servant/pensioner plus DA.
Recent Related News:
On September 16, 2021, MoD constituted a High Level Expert Committee, under the chairmanship of former Member of Parliament (MP) Baijayant Panda to review of National Cadet Corps (NCC). The committee will be responsible for suggesting measures to empower NCC cadets to contribute more effectively towards national development.
About Ministry of Defence:
Union Minister- Rajnath Singh (Constituency- Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh)
Minister of State– Ajay Bhatt (Constituency- Nainital–Udhamsingh Nagar, Uttarakhand)
