Amid strikes across LoC, Nirmala Sitharaman approves Rs 2700 crores for defence equipment

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) meeting chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday accorded approval for purchase of defence equipment for about Rs 2700 crores, according to reports. The approval was granted for procurement of three Cadet Training ships for the Indian Navy, which would be utilised to provide basic sea training for officer cadets including women officer under trainees.

The ships would be capable of undertaking Hospital Ship duties, providing Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, undertaking Search and Rescue (SAR) missions and Non-Combatant Evacuation Operations.

The development came amidst heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following the latter's unprovoked violations of Indian airspace near the army post in Poonch and Nowshera sectors of Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district on Wednesday. However, the Pakistan Air Force’s F-16 fighter jet was shot down in Indian retaliatory fire 3 KM within Pakistan territory in Lam valley, Nowshera sector.

These came a day after the Indian Air Forces (IAF)'s 2 Mirage 2000 aircraft supported by a fleet of Sukhoi 30 jets on Tuesday struck three Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camps at Balakot inside Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Being touted as the Surgical Strike 2.0, the pre-dawn surprise strike was India's response to Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM)'s cowardice attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district that left 42 CRPF personnel dead and dozens of others injured on February 14, 2019.