Armed Forces given emergency monetary powers to fight Covid

To assist the armed forces improve their capabilities to assist the nation battle Covid-19 problem, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday gave them emergency monetary powers to determine quarantine amenities and hospitals.
In an announcement, the Defence Ministry mentioned 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 mentioned, will assist 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, together with Chief of Integrated Defence Staff To The Chairman Chiefs Of Staff Committee (CISC) and General Officer Commanding-in-Chiefs and equivalents of all three providers have been given full powers, the ministry mentioned. The Corps Commanders and Area Commanders of the forces have been delegated powers upto Rs 50 lakh per case.