New Delhi
Senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh took charge as the Defence Minister in South Block here today.A statement of the Ministry said the minister “was given a brief presentation on the functioning of the MoD and all four departments namely Departments of Defence, Defence Production and Ex-serviceman Welfare and Research and Development Organisation”.

Before taking charge, Rajnath Singh paid tributes at the National War Memorial. He tweeted “These fallen heroes represent the character of India who has a long history of courage, sacrifice and patriotism. I salute them for keeping India safe.”

The minister instructed the officers to prepare detailed presentations on all divisions and set time-bound targets to achieve the desired outcome, the statement added.

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), the highest decision making body of the Ministry on procurements, is tentatively scheduled to meet in June. It will have several big ticket deals lined up for approval.

His immediate challenge would be to get additional funds and the long-term challenge is to give momentum to the ambitious “Make in India” pitch in defence manufacturing, which has made little progress in the past five years while also ensuring that defence modernisation makes progress.