The
Defence
Accounts Department (DAD) which has
lived through more than two and half centuries is one
of the oldest
departments under the Government of India. Its origina can be
traced to the Military Pay Masters under the East India Company.
In January 1750, the First Pay Master was appointed
for paying the Garrison at Fort Williams, Calcutta. Payments to
the troops in the field were made by a Commissary. In 1776 a
Commissary General was appointed for regulating the accounts.
In 1788, the designation of the Commissary General
was changed to Military Auditor General who exercised his control over
all Military Disbursements.
When the British Crown started administering India
in 1858, there were Military Accountants General in the Presidencies of
Bengal, Madras and Bombay.
The office of the Accountant General, Military
Department, was created in April 1864. In 1865, the
Government
recognized this position as the Head of the Military Accounts
Department. In 1922, office of Military Accountant General was reorginised post-war and 1 MAG, 2 Dy.MAGs, 2 Asstt. MAGs and 100 Accountants and clerks were sanctioned. Office of MAG then comprised of 8 sections viz. Record, AN, Audit, Accounts, Estimate, Pay, Foreign Claims and Inspection.
The Department was re-named as Defence Accounts Department
(DAD) on October 1st, 1951 and the Departmental Head designated as
Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA). For more than
three decades after independence, the DAD
functioned under the administrative control of the Ministry of
Finance. With the introduction of the Integrated Financial
Advisor scheme in the Ministry of Defence from August 1983, the Department came under the administrative control of
the Ministry of Defence.
LANDMARKS
IN THE HISTORY
OF DEFENCE ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT
1747
Articles
of War empowered British
Government to appoint
Military Pay Master.
1760
Commissary
General created.
1766
Pay
Master general created by amalgamating Commissary General
and Military
Pay Master.
1773
Revival
of Commissary General to control Military Stores,
contracts
and to audit and certify all bills for Military Charges.
1788
Commissary
General re-designated as Auditor General of
Military Accounts.
Military Pay Master General constituted to make advances for Military
Disbursements.
1860
Military
Finance Department with a hief for whole of
Indiaconstituted.
Under the Chief, functioned a Controller of Military Finance in each
Presidency
and under each Controller functioned Examiners and Compilers.
Board of Audit comprising Accountant General (also Auditor General)
and Chief of Military Finance Constituted.
1864
In
place of Chief, Military Finance Department Accountant
General to
the Military Department appointed.
1865
Accountant
General of Military department re-designated as
Controller
General of Military Expenditure.
1871
Controller
General of Military Expenditure re-designated as
the Accountant
General of Military Expenditure.
1906
Military
Accounts Department made subordinate to Finance
Department
as a result of two separate departments viz. Army and Military Supply,
in lieu of Military Department.
Creation of Military Finance branch headed by Military Accountant
General.
1
Oct. 1913
Financial
Advisor Military Finance created in place of
Military
Finance branch.
1920
Accounting
of Military Works Expenditure transferred from the
Comptroller
& Auditro General to the Military Accountant General. CAG's role
restricted
only to audit Military Accounts.
Controller of Marine Accounts, presently CDA(Navy), formed in Bombay.
Controller of the Royal Air Force Accounts, presently CDA(Air Force0,
formed in Ambala.
Accounting of Military Works decentralised to various Controllers of
Military Accounts. After World War-I Army restructured into four
Commands,
each headed by a Controller.
1929
Idea
of centralised Pension, hitherto dealt with by each
Controller,
mooted and ultimately resulted in the creation of Controller of
Military
Accounts(Pensions), Lahore.
1931
Hollerith
machines for data processing introduced.
1942
Conseuent
upon the restructuring of entire Army, Military
Accounts
Department reorganised with CMA, North Western Command at Rawalpindi;
CMA,
Eastern Command at Ranchi; CMA, Southern Command at Pune; CMA, Central
Command at Meerut; CMA(Pension) at Lahore and FCMA, Pune to account and
audit all field formations and for amking advances to the officers.
1950
FCMA(ORs)
moved from Ambala to Secunderabad.
1951
Fund
work transferred from Eastern Command to Hollerith
Section, Meerut.
1 Oct. 1951
Military
Accounts Department re-designated as Defence
Accounts Department.
Controllers of Military Accounts re-designated as Controllers of
Defence
Accounts. Military Accountant General re-designated as Controller
General
of Defence Accounts (CGDA).
1969
First
computer IBM-1401 installed at Meerut.
1977
DAD
projects for construction of office and residential
buildings undertaken.
1978
National
Institute of Management and Accounts (CDA Training)
established
at Meerut.
1983
Integrated
Financial Scheme introduced in the Ministry of
Defence-
FA (DS) and DAD came under the administrative jurisdiction of MOD.
1984
With
the availability of microprocessors, large scale
computerisationprogrammes
started in areas such as Officers' and Other Ranks' Pay and Funds
Accounts.
1991
Regional
Training Centres set up at Meerut, Pune, Bangalore
and Calcutta.
1994
Controllers
of Accounts (Factories0 re-designated as
Controller of
Finance & Accounts (Factories).
IFA System introduced for Air Force and Naval HQrs.
1995
IFA
System introduced in Border Roads and Army HQrs.
Re-organisation of Army COntrollers - Functional Controllers
for Other Ranks abolished and work transferred to respective
COntrollers.
1996
Inauguration
of Training and Convention Centre (Training
Division),
CGDA office, Brar Square, New Delhi.
1997
Award
of ISO 9002 Certification to Accounts Office, Ordnance
Factory,
Dehu Road.