NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said that of 32 lakh defence pensioners, 30 lakh have been successfully linked to the SPARSH portal — System for Pension Administration (RAKSHA).

Addressing the annual day celebrations of Defence Accounts Department (DAD), he said despite numerous challenges, the department has been successful in the implementation of this web-based system, which processes pension claims and credits the pension directly into bank accounts of defence pensioners without any external intermediary.

The Defence Minister hailed the efforts of DAD towards modernisation and strengthening of the country’s defence ecosystem through optimum utilisation of resources, efficiency and transparency in accounting and adoption of latest technologies.

Touching upon the progress achieved in the defence sector in the last few years, the Minister said there was a time when acquisitions were mainly dependent on imports, and the positive impact of defence expenditure on the economy was very limited.

“Due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government’s efforts to attain self-reliance, India is today seen as a defence exporter, ” he said.

The country’s defence production surged to Rs 1.27 lakh crore in FY 23-24, as exports soared from Rs 1, 000 crore to Rs 21, 000 crore, spanning across over 90 nations, giving a push to the ‘Make in India’ programme.

Defence export is projected to grow at an 18 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from FY24-FY30.

About Rs 6 lakh crore worth of defence equipment has been procured from Indian companies in the past decade, doubling the country’s defence production.

The Defence Minister urged DAD to prepare a roadmap to make the department a ‘Centre of Excellence’ in the field of defence finance and economics, exploring new frontiers in defence accounting & financial management.

“There are over 50 lakh personnel associated with the Ministry, and the budget is larger than the GDP of many small countries. DAD is a link which connects all the units of the Armed Forces and civilian organisations, ” he said.