Rajnath Singh enhances financial powers of field commanders; procurements worth Rs 1.25 lakh crore to get faster clearance

NEW DELHI: To enable quicker decision-making and fast-track defence procurements, defence minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday approved a two-fold increase in financial ceiling for field commanders to strengthen the miltiary’s operational efficiency.The defence minister, along with CDS General NS Raja Subramani, Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi, Navy chief Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, defence secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, has released the revised delegation of financial powers for the defence services, including medical and works projects.The enhancement in the financial powers has been made up to 100%, and even more than double in some cases. This will further strengthen the operational efficiency of field commanders, and lead to faster conclusion of contracts and execution of projects, the defence ministry said in a statement.The revised delegation of financial powers will facilitate procurement of more than Rs 1.25 lakh crore through the revenue route, as per current year budgetary allocations.Special financial powers delegated to the army, air force and naval commanders have been increased significantly along with a 100% increase in the total ceiling provided to meet urgent operational requirements.New provisions have been included to promote joint service procurement by the lead service with higher delegation than the normal procurement. Many new competent financial authorities have been introduced to decentralise the procurement of goods and services.The financial powers, which were last notified in 2021, delegated for indigenisation and R&D within the military ecosystem have been doubled to boost aatmanirbharta in defence by minimising the dependency on foreign original equipment manufacturers, the statement said.The revision was necessitated due to the expansion in force level and to cater to the increased expenditure on operations and sustenance vis-à-vis the increase in budgetary allocation.This revised delegation in financial powers, along with the revised defence procurement manual notified in Oct 2025, will give a fillip to defence procurement with expeditious decision-making. This will lead to timely availability of resources as per the needs of the defence forces.