Indian Defence Accounts Service

Last updated

Indian Defence Accounts Service
Service Overview
Abbreviation I.D.A.S.
Country Flag of India.svg  India
Controlling Authority Ministry of Defence
Legal personality Governmental: Civil Service
General natureDefence Finance, Accounts, Audit, Financial advisory
Service Chief
Financial Advisor(Defence Services)Smt. Rasika Chaube, IDAS
Controller General of Defence Accounts(CGDA)Shri Avinash Dixit, IDAS
Head of the Civil Services
Cabinet Secretary Sh. Rajiv Gauba

Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS) (Hindi: भारतीय रक्षा लेखा सेवा) is a Central Group 'A' Civil Service of the Republic of India established to provide Financial Advice, Payment, Accounts and Audit services to the Defence Services i.e. Indian Armed Forces (viz Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard) and other allied organisations viz. Ordnance Factories, , Military Engineer Services, Border Roads Organisation, Defence Research and Development Organisation etc.

Contents

IDAS officers are Group-A gazetted civilian officers under Ministry of Defence, Government of India. They are primarily recruited through the Civil Services Examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) every year. . The cadre controlling authority (CCA) of IDAS is the CGDA. The total number of IDAS officers is approximately 550. The Controller General of Defence Accounts(CGDA) is the service head of the Indian Defence Accounts Service and also heads the Defence Accounts Department. [1] [2]

Profile

The IDAS officers form the management cadre of the Defence Accounts Department(DAD). The Defence Accounts Department has a history of more than two hundred and fifty years, tracing its origin to the year 1750, having been established to look after the Pay & Accounts of Military Services in India. Presently, it is mandated to provide financial advice, payments, accounts and internal audit to the three Defence Services(Army, Navy, Air Force), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO),Ordnance Factories, Indian Coast Guard and other inter-services organisations. The concurrence of concerned financial advisors from the IDAS cadre at various echelons is needed before any expenditure is undertaken by these organisations under the administrative control of Ministry of Defence.

About Defence Finance

There is a separate Finance Division of the Raksha Mantralaya (Ministry of Defence) for dealing with all defence matters having a financial bearing. The head of this division is the Financial Adviser (Defence Services).

With a view to ensuring greater efficiency in administration and quicker disposal of the cases, Ministry of Defence has been delegated enhanced financial powers in regard to expenditure met from the Defence Services Estimates. In matters within the delegated powers of the Ministry of Defence, Financial Adviser(Defence Services) or authorised Representatives of Finance Division are to be consulted before exercise of financial powers. The Finance Division prepares the Defence Budget and the Civil estimates for the Civilian Establishments of the Ministry of Defence. It also furnishes the Heads of the Branches of the Armed Forces Headquarters and Heads of Civilian Deptts./Organisations with all information necessary to enable them to discharge their financial responsibilities in respect of the grants allotted to them and advises them in regard to the preparation of proposals and the disposal of financial business generally. Finance Division is also fully associated with formulation and implementation of Defence Plans.

Training, initial appointments and peculiar position

The officers recruited to IDAS are offered elaborate training at various centres. First, a foundation training along with the All India Services at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (Mussoorie) for four months is imparted. After this, Induction Training is imparted at National Academy of Defence Financial Management, Pune. This is followed by a Professional Training Course at National Institute of Financial Management (Faridabad). Finally, there is a Departmental Training at National Academy Of Defence Financial Management at Pune. The entire training(including on-job training) lasts for a period of two years. After this, on passing the Departmental Examination, the probationers are confirmed into the Junior Time Scale grade.

The officers are then posted as either the assistant CDA or deputy IFA (Integrated Financial Adviser). The IFAs and CDAs/ PCDAs hold very important and critical responsibilities vis-a-vis the expenditure of the biggest budget for any Ministry under Government of India - the Ministry of Defence. They're part of executive machinery in their role as IFAs and help plan judicious use of allotted money's to their zone/ command/ area of responsibility, therefore being incessantly involved in procurement, provisioning (Tendering), financial-logistical planning etc.

An important aspect of IDAS is their fast pace of promotions, that is one of the fastest among other equivalent -Group-'A' Civil Services. They become Joint CDA/ Joint IFA at about 9 years of service. Joint CDA is equivalent to Colonel rank of the Indian Army.

They become CDA at around 18 years of service. CDA is equivalent to Income Tax/ GST Commissioner/ IG of police/ Secretary to state government in an IAS cadre/ Joint Secretary to Government of India. IDAS officer's have been holding important deputation posts under Government of India.

See also

Related Research Articles

The All India Services (AIS) comprises the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service and Indian Forest Service. A unique feature of the All India Services is that the members of these services are recruited by the centre, but their services are placed under various State cadres, and they have the ability to serve both under the State and under the centre. Due to the federal polity of the country, this is considered one of the tools that makes union government stronger than state governments. Officers of these three services comply to the All India Services Rules relating to pay, conduct, leave, various allowances etc.

The Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineering, abbreviated as IRSME, is one of the group 'A' central engineering services of the Indian railways. The officers of this service are responsible for managing the Mechanical Engineering Division of the Indian Railways. Till 2019, IRSME officers were drawn from the Combined Engineering Service Examination (ESE) conducted by Union Public Service Commission. All appointments to the Group 'A' services are made by the president of India.

The Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers (IRSEE) is a prestigious group A central engineering services of the Indian railways. The officers of this service are responsible for managing the Electrical Engineering organisation of the Indian Railways.

The Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers (IRSSE) is a central engineering services group A cadre of the Indian railways. The officers of this service are responsible for managing the Signal and Telecommunications Engineering Organization of the Indian Railways.

The Indian Railways Service of Engineers (IRSE) is one of the oldest group 'A' central engineering services recruited through the engineering services examination of the Union Public Service Commission. The officers of this service are responsible for administering the Civil Engineering organisation of the Indian Railways

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Railway Personnel Service</span> Central Civil Servant

The Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS) is a Prestigious Group 'A' Central Civil Service cadre of the Government of India. The central civil servants of this service are responsible for managing the Human Resources of the Indian Railways and welfare of railway employees and their families. Railways has a work force of about 1.4 million employees. It is the only civil service of its kind in India and it creates a cadre of central civil servants specialized in human resource management in government of India. The total sanctioned strength of the service is '478' after cadre restructuring orders on 09.03.2019.

The Indian Railway Accounts Service is one of the Group A Central Civil Service of the Government of India. The civil servants under this Service are responsible for the Accounts and Finance Management of the Indian Railways. About 25–30 IRAS officers are recruited every year through Civil Services Examination conducted by Union Public Service Commission. Currently, the IRAS Cadre has a strength of about 800 officers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Controller General of Defence Accounts</span>

Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA) heads the Defence Accounts Department (DAD), which is one of the oldest government organisations in India. CGDA functions under the Ministry of Defence of India. CGDA is the cadre controlling authority of the Indian Defence Accounts Service, an organised Group 'A' Civil Service of Government of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Defence (India)</span> Indian Executive Department

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the ceremonial commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the country. The Ministry of Defence provides policy framework and resources to the armed forces to discharge their responsibility in the context of the defence of the country. The Indian Armed Forces and Indian Coast Guard under the Ministry of Defence are primarily responsible for ensuring the territorial integrity of India.

The Indian Economic Service is an inter-ministerial and inter-departmental central civil service under Group A of the executive branch of the Government of India. The unique aspect of the service is that the cadre posts are spread across various departments and ministries of central government numbering more than 55. It is a highly specialised and professional service within the government of India catering to economic analysis and policy advice.

The Indian Trade Service (ITS) is a civil service under Group A of the Central Civil Services of the executive branch of the Government of India. It was created as a specialized cadre to handle India's international trade & commerce on the basis of the recommendations of the Mathur Committee in 1965. At present Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), under Ministry of Commerce, is the cadre controlling authority of the ITS. DGFT has 38 regional offices across India, and plays a significant role in promoting India's international trade with its policy formulation and implementation.

The Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS) is a civil service of the Government of India. IOFS officers are Gazetted defence-civilian officers under the Ministry of Defence. They are responsible for the administration of the Indian Ordnance Factories, which provide the indigenous defence production capabilities of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Civil Accounts Service</span> Government of India Civil Service

The Indian Civil Accounts Service(ICAS)(Hindi: भारतीय सिविल लेखा सेवाBharatiya Civil Lekha Seva ) is one of the Civil Services of India. ICAS is under the Department of Expenditure in the Union Ministry of Finance. The service was created in 1976 with the purpose of separating Auditing and Accounting functions of the Union Government with deputation and transfer from Indian Audit and Accounts Department. Since 1977, personnel are selected from the Civil Services Examination conducted by Union Public Service Commission, like all other Central Civil Services.

Sunil Kumar Kohli, a senior Bureaucrat of Indian Civil Services, was the Financial Advisor to Defence Services (FADS). S.K Kohli was the 46th Controller General of Defence Accounts CGDA, Ministry of Defence, of the Republic of India. He is from 1981 batch IDAS cadre. He was Addl CGDA, and Principal controller at Delhi and before that he served as Joint Secretary in Ministry of Water Resources and is a graduate from D.A.V College Amristar, Guru Nanak University and holds an LL.B. Degree from University of Punjab. He holds a Degree from National Defence College, New Delhi on Defence Strategic Studies. He, as FADS, was mandated to advise the Ministry of Defence regarding both Capital and Revenue expenditures and Defence Budget of Govt. of India.He is a maverick Defence finance analyst. He superannuated on 31 August 2018, succeeded by Smt.Madhulika P. Sukul, IDAS(1982).

The Indian Defence Estates Service is a Civil Service in the Government of India. Its Cadre Controlling Authority (CCA) is the Ministry of Defence. Civil Services Examination conducted every year by Union Public Service Commission provides a gateway for entry into this service. The Service traces its origin to 16 December 1926 and has been constantly evolving since then. The service was initially known as the Military Lands and Cantonment Service (1926-1983), and then Defence Lands and Cantonment Service (1983-1985). In 1985, it was renamed as the Indian Defence Estates Service. The service is governed by the Indian Defence Estates Service Rules, 2013, where 75% intake is by direct recruitment and 25% by promotion.

The Indian Statistical Service is a civil service under Group A of the Central Civil Services of the executive branch of the Government of India. ISS is a civil service with high degree of proficiency in Statistical methods and applications. With the main mandate of producing quality Official Statistics with better methods and techniques, provide solutions to the data and information needs and interpretation and analysis of statistics, a majority portion of the probationary training programme is to be devoted to acquiring of technical knowledge in the field of official statistics, economics, financial statistics, survey methodology etc. The posts are recruited through UPSC examination. The minimum eligibility criterion is Bachelor’s degree with Statistics or Mathematical Statistics or Applied Statistics as one of the subject.

Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Services (AFHQCS) is a Group A Central Civil Services with induction at Group B grade, responsible for policy formulation, implementation and providing administrative support through civilian officers and staff to the Tri-services headquarters of Indian Armed Forces and Inter-Services Organizations (ISOs) such as DRDO, DGQA, DGAQA, DGNCC etc under the Ministry of Defence (MOD). The cadre was established in 1968. The number of employees in the service in 1968 was 1778; in 2011, 2644; and in 2016, 3235.

Nekkhomang Neihsial, born 1 March 1957, is a senior Bureaucrat of Indian Civil Services. Neihsial was appointed as the 47th Controller General of Defence Accounts CGDA, Ministry of Defence, of the Republic of India. He was from 1981 the batch IDAS cadre. He served as Addl CGDA before his promotion to CGDA. He was earlier working as Principal controller Jammu and Principal Financial Advisor to Indian Navy.After his superannuation as CGDA on 28-02-2017, he is appointed as administrative member of the Central Administrative Tribunal in 2018. Since 30 July 2018 he has been working as an administrative member of the Central Administrative Tribunal Bench in Guwahati, Assam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military Engineer Services (India)</span> Military infrastructure organisation

The Military Engineer Services (MES) is an inter-service organisation with military and civilian components of its officers and subordinate staff. MES is one of the oldest and largest government defence infrastructure-development agencies in India. Construction work is done with contracts, but maintenance is conducted by departmentally-employed labour (DEL) and contracts. MES is primarily employed in engineering and construction for the Indian Armed Forces, including the Army, Navy, Air Force, the Ordnance Factory Board, and the DRDO. It is also involved in complex projects, including hospitals, airfields, buildings, workshops, roads, runways, hangars, dockyards, airport terminals, sewage treatment plants, solar plants wharves, and other marine structures. MES has been entrusted with the construction of the Indian National War Memorial.

The Railway Board Secretariat Service (RBSS) is a central civil service with induction at Group 'B' stage in the Secretariat of the Ministry of Railways of the Union Government of India.

References

  1. "CGDA - Controller General of Defence Accounts" . Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  2. "Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS) - UPSC Guide" . Retrieved 18 September 2016.