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The three service headquarters, which were earlier "attached offices" of the Ministry of Defence, have been re-designated as the Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence with more financial and administrative powers, outgoing Defence Secretary Yogendra Narain said in New Delhi on Saturday.
Narain said the renaming was not cosmetic, but it reflected the sweeping changes that started about a year back in the ministry, including a massive increase in purchase of high quality equipment for the armed forces.
The MoD had spent Rs 16,000 crores of its capital fund in 2001-2002, compared to Rs 12,000 crores in 2000-01. For this financial year, 2002-03, the ministry wanted to spend Rs 22,000 crores, the entire capital outlay.
The MoD had proposed to the finance ministry a "non-lapsable two-year rolling budget", which would allow it to carry forward its unspent budget to the next year, Narain, who is retiring on Monday, said.
At the end of every financial year, the ministry returns thousands of crores of its budget.
Narain said the MoD had also overhauled its procurement procedures to speed up purchases and avoid possible allegations of corruption. The Cabinet Committee on Security last week formally approved the Defence Procurement Board, which was functioning informally since September last.
The ministry had also adopted a Fast Track Procurement Procedure, under which the government had recently procured Thermal Image Integrated Observation System, handheld thermal imagers and other night vision equipment and unmanned aerial vehicles.
For the fast track procedure, the ministry would set up two committees: An Eminent Persons Committee and a Technical Evaluation Committee. The eminent persons would be drawn from the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Central Vigilance Commission, retired defence secretaries etc.
The Technical Evaluation Committee would comprise of a scientist from the Defence Research and Development Organisation, and two serving officers who were not involved in the particular purchase.
Narain said the government was "studying the report" for setting up of a National Defence University. The university would be set up in Delhi or its satellite township Noida at a cost of about Rs 400 crores. All major tri-service defence institutions would come under the university.
He said the government was also negotiating the price of Scorpene submarines from France. It was also looking to sign an agreement for the manufacture of the submarine in India.
Narain said procurement procedures had undergone a sea change and "transfer of technology" was an integral part of the foreign policy today.
The outgoing secretary claimed that the world now acknowledged India as a "super regional power" and the country had a strategic role outside the region too. To fulfil this status India was acquiring systems like an aircraft carrier and sophisticated surveillance equipment.
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