New Delhi. Accidents involving defence assets and the defence procurement policy would be examined by a parliamentary panel which has on its agenda several subjects to be probed including reviewing the selection procedure of officers in the armed forces.
The 31-member Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence with one seat vacant is chaired by former Union minister Jual Oram from Odisha and includes Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
It currently has 21-members from the Lok Sabha and nine from the Rajya Sabha.
“Accidents involving defence assets – a critical review, an assessment of defence procurement policy” are also among the subjects selected by the panel for examination, Lok Sabha bulletin said.
The committee had, in its report tabled in Parliament last year, said accidents had become a continuous feature in the Navy.
The Indian Navy witnessed 62 accidents between 2007 and 2017, and 177 officers were found guilty during inquiries ordered into such incidents, according to the report.
Similarly, according to government data, 44 aircraft and helicopters — 26 fighter jets, six helicopters, nine trainer aircraft and three transport planes — of the Indian Air Force were lost in crashes since 2014-15, in which 46 personnel were killed.
