Armed forces told to take optimisation measures amid Covid-19 crisis

Underlining the severe financial constraints imposed on the army, navy and air force as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Department of Military Affairs (DMA), headed by Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, has sent out a letter ordering “optimisation measures”. Officers, however, fear this will sharply impair the military’s equipment and functioning.

In the letter, which Business Standard has reviewed, Rawat, in his capacity as DMA Secretary and CDS, has slashed expenditure on the building of unit medical facilities, training simulators, soldiers’ cookhouses, and officers’ messes. 

The letter orders that no concrete garages are to be