New Delhi. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed activities of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in New Delhi on June 6.

The Defence Minister was briefed regarding Defence Cooperation activities with Friendly Foreign Countries (FFCs). He was briefed about planning activities of the Armed Forces including Tri-Services agencies viz. HQ IDS and Defence Cyber Agency, Defence Space Agency and Armed Forces Special Forces Division which were approved by the CCS in 2019, and was also briefed about the Defence Planning Committee setup in 2018.

The Defence Minister reviewed the policy matters pertaining to defence diplomacy including bilateral/multilateral exercises, capacity building, training, material assistance to FFCs, etc. Minister of State (MoS) for Defence Shripad Yesso Naik, Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra and other senior officials of MoD were also present on the occasion.

In addition, Defence Minister Singh also reviewed defence acquisition issues. He was briefed about Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP), budget utilisation, major procurements and challenges therein. The present status of procurements and payments were also briefed alongwith implications of major deals with other countries.

He directed officials to seek indigenous solutions for meeting requirements of the forces to the extent possible and noted the progress under the Strategic Partnership Programme (SPP).

The Defence Minister has scheduled review of other departments. He reviewed ex-servicemen welfare issues with the officials of the department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare.