SP Guide Publications puts forth a well compiled articulation of issues, pursuits and accomplishments of the Indian Army, over the years
I am confident that SP Guide Publications would continue to inform, inspire and influence.
My compliments to SP Guide Publications for informative and credible reportage on contemporary aerospace issues over the past six decades.
Defence Minister A.K. Antony has dedicated the Indian Navy’s Financial Information System (FIS) to the nation. Lauding the Navy’s initiative as a major initiative in the field of financial management Antony said, “I hope other two services and all the other departments of the Government of India will follow this timely and useful initiative of the Indian Navy. I would like to congratulate the Navy for taking this timely initiative”.
Speaking about the need for judicious utilisation of the nation’s fiscal resources, Antony said, “Now our defence budget is touching nearly Rs. 2,00,000 crore, in actual terms Rs. 1,93,000 crore, and in the years to come, this will further step up every year, substantial step up is there. But even then considering the security scenario around us, we will not be able to find resources as per the aspirations of the armed forces fully”. Emphasising the importance of laying out proper priorities, he said that “We have prepared the annual plan, five-year plan and the LTIPP up to 2027.” Urging other armed forces to take a cue from the Indian Navy’s initiative Antony said, “If the other services follow, will help you also, for a proper planning how to utilise our rare resources.” Ever conscious of the need for fiscal prudence Antony stressed this aspect saying: “Every rupee that we get from the Indian taxpayer we must utilise it properly, effectively and as per the priority. That is why I feel it is a very timely initiative by the Indian Navy. It will help the entire nation even at least entire government if we can follow this initiative with all the departments of the Government of India”.
The FIS, a comprehensive financial information system, will facilitate effective planning, allotment, expenditure and monitoring of the naval budget. The system links the New Delhi-based Naval Headquarters with the three Command Headquarters and various ships and establishments located far and wide across the country.
The onerous task of budget management involved monitoring allotment and expenditure across about 500 code heads being spent by 650 units across the Navy. The implementation of FIS marks a transition from the predominantly manual system of budget management and will reduce the delays and efforts involved in data collation and reporting, inherent in any manual system. By consolidating the transactions of disparate organisations across the various code heads on a single unified platform FIS will enable timely decisionmaking to ensure optimal utilisation of budget.
Saying that the FIS “is another step in the series of measures to bring about more probity, accountability and transparency in our public dealings and financial transactions”, Antony stressed upon the need to “overcome existing constraints and enhance integration of CDAs to ensure maximum utilisation of the FIS”.
The Financial Information System (Navy) is built on SAP Enterprise Resource Planning tools and has been custom configured and developed by Wipro for the Indian Navy.
Earlier during the function, the Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral R.K. Dhowan had pointed out that the Indian Navy had fully utilised its allocated budget for the last six years. It is pertinent to highlight that the Indian Navy has consistently maintained a healthy ratio of capital budget to revenue budget. For the year 2012-13, the budget allocation for the Indian Navy stands at 68:32 for capital revenue budget.