New Delhi, July 14: Aiming to enable quicker procurement of equipment for the armed forces, the government has increased five-fold Defence Minister A K Antony’s financial powers from existing Rs 100 crore to Rs 500 crore.
Also, Antony can approve defence purchases within his financial powers without having to take the proposals to the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), the highest decision- making body of the government on national security matters.
The orders in this regard came about yesterday after Finance Minister had supported the idea and mooted a proposal in this regard, Defence Ministry officials said here today.
Along with these powers for Antony, the Defence Ministry was also authorised to decide on defence procurement up to Rs 1,000 crore with concurrence from the Finance Ministry, they said.
—Agencies