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India has hiked the financial powers of its army, navy and air force headquarters three-fold to facilitate speedy purchases of essential defence equipment, weapons and systems.
The revised financial powers, under which the three services headquarters can procure up to $30 million on their own, got the nod of the highest decision-making body, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). Existing financial powers of the services headquarters is to purchase up to $10 million.
The Defence Ministry had already given in-principle approval to the increased financial powers in May 2012 when Defence Minister AK Antony had chaired a meeting of the three services chiefs along with the Defence Secretary.
The May decision had come in the wake of criticism mounting that India's defence forces' preparedness to wage a war was very poor due to the approaching obsolescence of its weapons and equipment.
A letter from then Indian Army chief General VK Singh earlier that year to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on poor capabilities of the forces got leaked to the media, resulting in criticism in parliament too and Antony replying to parliamentarians' queries.
The government powers delegation rules stipulate that the Defence Minister can approve purchases at his level worth over $100 million up to $200 million. Any contract over $200 million will have to be approved by the CCS headed by the prime minister, with finance minister, external affairs minister and home minister, apart from the defence minister, as members.
Business estimates suggests that India is likely to buy equipment worth $100 billion over the next decade till 2022. However, the Indian defence purchases have faced a setback due to poor economic performance of the country, resulting in the defence capital budget being pruned by over $2 billion in December 2013. India's official financial year is from April to March.
CCS Approves 3-Fold Hike in Armed Forces Financial Powers
The revised financial powers, under which the three services headquarters can procure up to $30 million on their own, got the nod of the highest decision-making body, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). Existing financial powers of the services headquarters is to purchase up to $10 million.
The Defence Ministry had already given in-principle approval to the increased financial powers in May 2012 when Defence Minister AK Antony had chaired a meeting of the three services chiefs along with the Defence Secretary.
The May decision had come in the wake of criticism mounting that India's defence forces' preparedness to wage a war was very poor due to the approaching obsolescence of its weapons and equipment.
A letter from then Indian Army chief General VK Singh earlier that year to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on poor capabilities of the forces got leaked to the media, resulting in criticism in parliament too and Antony replying to parliamentarians' queries.
The government powers delegation rules stipulate that the Defence Minister can approve purchases at his level worth over $100 million up to $200 million. Any contract over $200 million will have to be approved by the CCS headed by the prime minister, with finance minister, external affairs minister and home minister, apart from the defence minister, as members.
Business estimates suggests that India is likely to buy equipment worth $100 billion over the next decade till 2022. However, the Indian defence purchases have faced a setback due to poor economic performance of the country, resulting in the defence capital budget being pruned by over $2 billion in December 2013. India's official financial year is from April to March.
CCS Approves 3-Fold Hike in Armed Forces Financial Powers
