Ministry of Defence delegates financial powers to armed forces

NEW DELHI: Defence ministry has delegated “substantial” financial powers to the three defence services for carrying out perimeter security of sensitive military installations. This has been done to expedite the decision making process in the modernisation of the airbases and defence installations.

The development comes a few days after the ministry delegated the Indian Army’s Vice Chief Sarath Chand of full financial powers to procure critical ammunition and spares to maintain an optimum level to be able to fight a short intense war. The army is facing critical deficiencies in its ammunition and spares.

In relation to the fresh development, the ministry issued a statement on Thursday stating, “In an unprecedented move, the MoD has decided to delegate substantial financial powers to the armed forces for undertaking works for perimeter security of sensitive military installations. This has been done primarily to expedite the decision making process involved in the modernisation of the security apparatus of airbases and defence installations.”


The statement also said that the Vice-Chiefs of the three Services have been empowered to place orders, procure equipment and carry out civil works without further seeking approvals of the MoD. The financial delegation represents a significant jump in the powers currently exercised by the services.