NEW DELHI: The Indian Posts & Telecommunications Accounts and Finance Service (IP&TAFS) on Monday marked its 51st Foundation Year as Sanchar Vitta Lekha Diwas and organised the Communication Finance Summit 2025, underscoring its growing role in financial governance across India’s telecommunications and postal sectors.
Controller General of Communication Accounts, Vandana Gupta, traced the Service’s five-decade journey, highlighting its evolution amid economic liberalization and rapid technological change. She said IP&TAFS has emerged as a strategic financial governance cadre, with responsibilities spanning revenue assurance, licence fee and spectrum usage charge assessment, financial oversight of telecom operators, internal audit, pension management and policy-oriented financial advice. She noted that the Service’s professionalism has helped the Department of Telecommunications and the Department of Posts rank among the top performers in grievance redressal.
Gupta also highlighted capacity building as a core strength, pointing to the National Communications Academy–Finance, a Sarvottam–Capacity Building Commission highest-rated Central Training Institute. The academy has conducted a Special Foundation Course for officers from multiple services in collaboration with the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration.
Advisor (Finance) Darshana M. Dabral said agility and adaptability define IP&TAFS, citing major reforms during the 1990s liberalisation and the ongoing digital transformation. She highlighted platforms such as SAMPANN, IT 2.0 and SARAS, suggesting their wider adoption across ministries and states.
Senior Deputy Director General Rajeev Kumar and Additional Controller General of Accounts Astha Saxena emphasised institutional continuity, digital public financial management and inter-departmental collaboration. The summit also featured discussions on SAMPANN 2.0, postal IT reforms and future initiatives aimed at inclusive, transparent growth in the communications sector.
