Defence Minister AK Antony on May 28 gave his ‘in principle’ approval to a three-fold hike in the delegation of financial powers to Service Headquarters – from the current Rs.50 crores to Rs.150 crores – with the sole objective of accelerating the process of procurement for the armed forces.
The decision was taken after Antony had a meeting here with the three Service Chiefs – Admiral Nirmal Verma, General VK Singh, Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne — and Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma. A detailed review of the security situation was also made at the meeting, Sitanshu Kar, the chief spokesperson of the Ministry of Defence, said. Antony directed the three Service Chiefs to explore more avenues for giving permanent commission to women in the Armed Forces.
Antony also had a one-on-one meeting on May 28, morning with the Chief of Army Staff General Singh, who is retiring on May 31. The meeting lasted 15 minutes.
(FOC)
