Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday directed the top military brass to ensure that India’s adversaries do not get any opportunity to push their “evil design” by taking advantage of the country’s focus on fighting the coronavirus pandemic, officials said.
Reviewing India’s military preparedness at a high-levelmeeting, he also asked the armed forces to avoid wasteful expenditure and makesure judicious utilisation of funds in view of the downturn in the economycaused by the pandemic, they said.
The top army brass apprised Singh about the situation alongthe Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir as well as along the nearly-3,500 KMfrontier with China.
Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh briefed Singh about theoverall situation in the Indian Ocean region where China has been increasinglyexpanding its military influence by deploying warships and submarines.
Top military commanders from key commands of the Army, theNavy and the Indian Air Force across the country also attended the meetingthrough video conference.In the meeting, thedefence minister asked the top military brass to identify and prioritise tasksthat could help in revival of the economy after the lockdown is lifted, besidesemphasising on the need for ensuring jointness among the three services,officials said.