The government has approved a three-fold hike in the delegation of financial powers to Service Headquarters from the current 50 crore rupees to 150 crore rupees to accelerate the process of procurement for the Armed Forces.

A decision to this effect was taken in a meeting held by Defence minister AK Antony with the three Service Chiefs and Defence Secretary in New Delhi today. During the meeting, Mr Antony directed the Service Chiefs to explore more avenues for giving permanent commission to women in the Armed Forces.

Earlier, the Defence minister also had a one-on-one meeting with Army Chief General VK Singh this morning. The meeting lasted 15 minutes.