Rajnath Singh takes charge as defence minister
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Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik, Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra and top officials of the ministry accorded a warm welcome to Singh.
Rajanth Singh on Saturday took charge as the defence minister and immediately held a meeting with the top military brass.
Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik, Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra and top officials of the ministry accorded a warm welcome to Singh.
After taking charge, the former home minister held a meeting with Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa and newly appointed Navy chief Karambir Singh.
The defence secretary and several other senior officials of the ministry were also present at the meeting.
The Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday announced portfolios for 24 cabinet ministers, 9 ministers of state with independent charge and 24 Ministers of State (MoS) in Union Cabinet for the 17th Lok Sabha.
Terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, incursion attempts by Pakistan, and the emergence of Islamic State were among the top challenges faced by Singh as Home Minister.
As India's new defence minister, Rajnath Singh's most crucial challenge will be to speed up the long-delayed modernisation of the three services besides ensuring overall coherence in their combat readiness.
His another challenge will be to ensure peace and tranquillity along the frontier with China while developing required military infrastructure to deal with any possible Chinese hostility.