Arun Jaitley meets top navy brass

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley with Navy chief Admiral RK Dhowan addressing the media after the inaugural session of Naval Commanders' Conference in New Delhi. The 'slow pace' of acquisition of weapon systems is a matter of concern and the new government will work towards "expediting" the procurement process to meet the requirements of the armed forces, says Defence Minister Arun Jaitley.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley with Navy chief Admiral RK Dhowan addressing the media after the inaugural session of Naval Commanders' Conference in New Delhi. After attending the Naval Commanders' Conference, Defence Minister hinted that demand of the armed forces for more funds in the budget was likely to be accepted as the "entire resource of the country, notwithstanding various pressures, has to make available a significant amount for those in defence of the country".

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley and Navy chief Admiral R K Dhowan with Naval commanders at Naval Commanders' Conference in New Delhi. "The key subject matter of concern appears to be the slow pace of acquisition of whatever equipment and assets are required. The Navy has highlighted that. Hope of the forces is that their requirements should be fulfilled and the process should also be expedited. The effort of the government would be to work in that direction," Jaitley said.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley with Navy chief Admiral RK Dhowan and naval commanders pose for a group photograph at Naval Commanders' Conference in New Delhi. "There are several decisions in the pipeline and I think there is a good case for these processes to be expedited", says Arun Jaitley.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley and Navy chief Admiral RK Dhowan with Naval commanders at Naval Commanders' Conference in New Delhi. The Navy has several acquisition projects stuck for many years due to slow procurement process, including the Rs 6,000 crore 16 multirole helicopter project and the acquisition of torpedoes for the Scorpene submarines.