
Armed Forces given emergency financial powers to combat Covid To help the armed forces enhance their capabilities to help the country fight Covid-19 challenge, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday gave them emergency financial powers to establish quarantine facilities and hospitals. In a statement, the Defence Ministry said Singh “invoked special provisions and granted Emergency Financial Powers to the Armed Forces to empower them and speed up their efforts in tide over the current” second wave of the pandemic The powers, it said, will help the formation commanders “to establish and operate quarantine facilities/hospitals and undertake procurement/repair of equipment/items/material/stores, besides provisioning of various services and works required to support the ongoing effort against the pandemic”. Vice Chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force, including Chief of Integrated Defence Staff To The Chairman Chiefs Of Staff Committee (CISC) and General Officer Commanding-in-Chiefs and equivalents of all three services have been given full powers, the ministry said. The Corps Commanders and Area Commanders of the forces have been delegated powers upto Rs 50 lakh per case.