Alka Nangia Arora assumes charge as Controller General of Defence Accounts
New Delhi. Alka Nangia Arora, a 1991-batch officer of the Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS), on August 1 assumed charge as the Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA), bringing with her more than three decades of experience in defence financial management and public administration.
An alumna of Garhwal University, Dehradun, and IIT Roorkee, Arora has held several senior positions in the Government of India. Before taking over as CGDA, she served as Additional Secretary and Financial Adviser in the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) under the Ministry of Agriculture.
Her previous assignments also include Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Managing Director of the Central Cottage Industries Corporation of India Ltd., and Additional Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) in the Ministry of Textiles. During her tenure, she spearheaded initiatives related to handicrafts promotion, agricultural research, procurement policy and public finance. She has also undergone advanced executive training at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore and the Indian School of Business (ISB), Mohali.
Arora began her career in the Ministry of Defence at the Dum Dum Ordnance Factory in Kolkata and has since served in several key positions within the Defence Accounts Department (DAD). Over the years, she has worked closely with all three services of the armed forces in financial advisory roles.
Her defence assignments include Financial Adviser to the Admiral Superintendent of the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai, Financial Adviser to the Army’s Eastern Command and head of the Area Accounts Office in Kolkata, Integrated Financial Adviser to the Western Air Command and the Army Hospital (Research and Referral), and Principal Integrated Financial Adviser at Air Headquarters.
Before assuming charge as CGDA, she served as Additional and Special Controller General of Defence Accounts at the CGDA Headquarters, where she oversaw policy matters relating to audit, information technology and systems, integrated financial advice and training.
As the head of the Defence Accounts Department, Arora will be responsible for overseeing financial management, accounting, audit and payment systems for the Ministry of Defence and the armed forces.
