DEFENCE Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said that swift and transparent decision-making and availability of optimal resources were needed for a country’s combat readiness.

In his address at the Controllers’ Conference 2022 organised by the Defence Accounts Department (DAD) here, Singh also said a delay in making a decision leads to loss of both time and money, and affects combat readiness.

Resources around the world are limited, the defence minister said and stressed on exercising “financial prudence” in using them. Resources should be used at the right places and there should be no wastage, he added.

“A penny saved is a penny earned, and this applies fully to resources too. You are aware that for a country’s combat readiness, not only availability of optimal resources is required, but swift and transparent decision-making is also needed,” Singh said.

If there is a delay in decision-making, there may be some shortfall in combat readiness, the Defence Minister said.

The DAD handles the budget allocated to the Ministry of Defence, which translates into pay and allowances of personnel, payment to pensioners, processing of financial advice cases for various procurements and processing of first and third party claims, apart from other auxiliary activities, including internal audit function, the ministry said in a statement. In the Union Budget 2022-23, defence was allocated Rs 5.25 lakh crore, Singh said, adding that DAD officials should also tell if more expenditure is needed for anything.