The government has directed the Army to streamline its acquisition process in such a manner so that accountability can be fixed in case of any slippages. The Defence Minister Mr. A.K. Antony yesterday reviewed various issues and proposals relating to acquisition for the Army on Capital and Revenue Accounts and asked Defence officials and the Army to examine the possibility of compressing the time taken for technical evaluations and trials. He favoured delegation of more financial powers to Service Headquarters if it can lead to speedier acquisition of equipment, platforms and systems for the Services.

The meeting was attended among others by Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma, Chief of Army Staff Gen. V.K. Singh, DG Acquisition Vivek Rao and top brass of Indian Army. Another meeting will be held next month to review the progress made on the decisions taken yesterday