Peace time is nothing but 'illusion': Rajnath Singh
(You can now subscribe to our
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel
Peace time is nothing but an "illusion", and India must remain prepared for uncertainty even during periods of relative calm, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said while hailing the armed forces for the valour they displayed during Operation Sindoor In an address at an event, Singh said the performance of the indigenously built equipment and platforms in the operation increased the global demand for India-built military products."The world is looking at our defence sector with new respect. A single delay or error in financial processes can directly affect operational preparedness," he said."Most of the equipment we once imported is now being made in India. Our reforms are succeeding because of the clarity of vision and commitment at the highest level," he said.The defence minister was addressing the Controllers' Conference of the Defence Accounts Department (DAD)."A single delay or error in financial processes can directly affect operational preparedness," he said, and called on the DAD to evolve from a "controller" to a "facilitator" in sync with increasing participation of the private sector in defence.Delving into the larger geopolitical situation , the defence minister cited an analysis by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which said the global military expenditure reached USD 2.7 trillion in 2024.This opens up tremendous opportunities for India's indigenous defence industries , he said.The defence minister praised the DAD's new motto "Alert, Agile, Adaptive" and noted that these are not mere words, but a reflection of the work culture required in today's rapidly evolving defence environment.He urged officials to undertake internal reform through self-introspection, rather than relying solely on external audits or consultants. "Improvements made through internal evaluation create living organisations. These reforms are more organic, with fewer barriers."Peace time is nothing but an illusion. Even during periods of relative calm, we must prepare for uncertainty. Sudden developments can force a complete shift in our financial and operational posture," he said."Whether it's stepping up equipment production or adapting financial processes, we must be ready with innovative techniques and responsive systems at all times," he said.He urged the DAD to incorporate this mindset into their planning, budgeting and decision-making systems.Highlighting the increasing strategic and economic significance of the defence sector, Singh called for a shift in perception from defence spending as mere expenditure to an economic investment with multiplier impact."Until recently, defence budgets were not seen as part of the national economy. Today, they are growth drivers," he added.Singh said India, along with the rest of the world, is entering a new phase of re-armament, marked by capital-intensive investments in the defence sector.The defence minister called upon the DAD to incorporate defence economics in their planning and assessments, including social impact analysis of R&D projects and dual-use technologies.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
16 minutes ago
- Time of India
Rupee weakens by 46 paise to close at 85.85/$
Mumbai: The Indian currency weakened nearly half a rupee to close at 85.85 per dollar on Monday, from its previous close of 85.39/$1 as uncertainty about US tariff policies resurfaced with President Donald Trump's threat of an additional 10% levy on Brics countries. The rupee opened at 85.57/$1, and weakened till 86.03/$1 on Monday, before pairing its losses and closing at 85.85/$1, likely due to intervention by the Reserve Bank, traders said. "Markets were expecting something on the trade deal with the US, but nothing came up, and the BRICS statement deteriorated sentiments. We were the second worst performing currency in Asia, and due to potential RBI intervention, we erased some losses and to be the third worst-performing Asian currency," said Dilip Parmar, currency research analyst at HDFC Securities. Japanese Yen and the Thai baht were the two worst performing Asian currencies. Traders expect the rupee to move in the range of 85.50/$1 to 86.25/$1 on Tuesday, ahead of July 9, when Trump will unveil his new stand on tariffs. In a social media post, President Donald Trump stated a new tariff policy, calling for countries "aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies" of the BRICS developing nations to be charged an extra 10% tariff, with no exceptions to be granted. India, along with Brazil, China, Russia, South Africa are part of BRICS. The dollar index gained slightly at 97.6, from 96.9 previously. "The BRICS comment has put the India-US deal in jeopardy and we are awaiting clarifications from India-US on the matter. The rupee has fallen as the market is not expecting the deal to be done soon," said Anil Bhansali, head of treasury at Finrex Treasury Advisors.
Economic Times
31 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Japan, South Korea hit with 25% tariffs as Trump ramps up trade war in letters to leaders
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday began telling trade partners - from powerhouse suppliers like Japan and South Korea to minor players - that sharply higher U.S. tariffs will start August 1, marking a new phase in the trade war he launched earlier this 14 countries sent letters so far, which included smaller U.S. exporters like Serbia, Thailand and Tunisia, hinted at opportunities for additional negotiations while at the same time warning that any reprisal steps would be met with a like-for-like response. "If for any reason you decide to raise your Tariffs, then, whatever the number you choose to raise them by, will be added onto the 25% that we charge," Trump said in letters, released on his Truth Social platform, to Japan and South higher tariffs, levied on U.S. importers of foreign goods, take effect August 1, and notably will not combine with previously announced sector tariffs such as those on automobiles and steel and means, for instance, that Japanese vehicle tariffs will remain at 25%, rather than the existing 25% auto sector tariff climbing to 50% with the new reciprocal rate as has occurred with some of Trump's clock has been ticking for countries to conclude deals with the U.S. after Trump unleashed a global trade war in April that has roiled financial markets and sent policymakers scrambling to protect their partners got another reprieve as Trump signed an executive order on Monday extending the Wednesday deadline for negotiations to August has kept much of the world guessing on the outcome of months of talks with countries hoping to avoid the hefty tariff hikes he has rate for South Korea is the same as Trump initially announced, while the rate for Japan is 1 point higher than the one announced on April 2. A week later, he capped all of the so-called reciprocal tariffs at 10% until Wednesday. Only two agreements have so far been reached, with Britain and Cutler, vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute, said it was unfortunate Trump was hiking tariffs on imports from two of the closest U.S. allies, but there was still time for a breakthrough in negotiations."While the news is disappointing, it does not mean the game is over," Cutler said. Trump said that the United States would impose 25% tariffs on goods from Tunisia, Malaysia and Kazakhstan; 30% on South Africa, Bosnia and Herzegovina; 32% on Indonesia; 35% on Serbia and Bangladesh; 36% on Cambodia and Thailand and 40% on Laos and Myanmar. South Korea said it planned to intensify U.S. trade talks and considers Trump's plan for a 25% tariff from August 1 as effectively extending a grace period on implementing reciprocal tariffs."We will step up negotiations during the remaining period to reach a mutually beneficial result to quickly resolve the uncertainties from tariffs," the country's Industry Ministry African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the 30% U.S. tariff rate was unjustified given that 77% of U.S. goods enter South Africa with no tariffs. Ramaphosa's spokesperson said his government would continue to engage with the was no response from the Japanese embassy in Washington.U.S. stocks fell in response, the latest market turmoil as Trump's trade moves have whipsawed financial markets and sent policymakers scrambling to protect their economies.U.S. stocks were driven to near bear-market territory by his cascade of tariff announcements through the early spring but quickly rebounded to record highs after he put the stiffest levies on hold on April S&P 500 closed down about 0.8%, its biggest drop in three weeks. U.S.-listed shares of Japanese automotive companies fell, with Toyota Motor closing down 4.0% and Honda Motor off by 3.9%. The dollar surged against both the Japanese yen and the South Korean won."Tariff talk has sucked the wind out of the sails of the market," said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management. Most of the announced tariff rates have been rounded down, he added, and the letters come across as "take it or leave it" offers.U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier on Monday he expected several trade announcements in the next 48 hours, adding that his inbox was full of countries' last-ditch European Union will not be receiving a letter setting out higher tariffs, EU sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday. The EU still aims to reach a trade deal by Wednesday after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Trump had a "good exchange," a commission spokesperson said. The EU has been torn over whether to push for a quick and light trade deal or leverage its economic clout to negotiate a better outcome. It had already given up hopes for a comprehensive trade agreement before the July deadline. The president also threatened leaders of developing nations in the BRICS group, who are meeting in Brazil, with an additional 10% tariff if they adopt "anti-American" group includes Brazil, Russia, India and China among others.
Time of India
43 minutes ago
- Time of India
VA halts major staff layoffs: How veterans affairs protects jobs and improves veteran care under Trump administration
Veterans and workers fought against big job cuts Live Events VA keeps services safe while staff leaves VA safeguards care amid cuts and protests FAQs (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) said on Monday it will not do a big layoff like many other federal agencies did under the Trump administration's U.S. DOGE Service. VA was originally planning to cut nearly 83,000 workers, as revealed in a leaked memo in March, but now it will only reduce staff by about 30,000 employees by the end of this fiscal year, as per the Secretary Douglas A. Collins had earlier said these cuts were 'tough but necessary' and warned staff to 'get used to it.' The White House said cutting VA staff would make the agency less 'bloated' and more efficient and transparent, as per the report by The Washington many veterans and advocacy groups strongly opposed the deep cuts, saying it would hurt the quality of VA services. VA employees' morale dropped, and many workers left their jobs because of fears about layoffs. The VA decided not to do a big Reduction in Force (RIF) after veterans groups, Congress, and staff warned that fewer workers would hurt veteran make up a large part of the federal workforce, so cutting VA jobs risked upsetting a key Republican voting group. President Trump is popular with veterans and had said he would not cut their VA benefits. VA avoided big layoffs because many workers left voluntarily through retirement, normal job attrition, and delayed resignations, as stated by the reports.A federal hiring freeze also helped reduce staff numbers without forced layoffs. VA had about 484,000 employees in January but had about 467,000 by June—a loss of 17,000 workers. Between July and September, VA expects 12,000 more employees to leave by normal attrition or retirement programs, as mentioned in the report by The Washington an email to VA staff, Secretary Collins said after four months of study and action, VA is 'headed in the right direction' for both staff levels and customer service. Collins said even with 30,000 staff leaving, VA performance is improving, like fewer veterans waiting for disability benefits and better claims processing, according to the said it has safeguards to protect veteran care and benefits during staff reductions, with many mission-critical jobs exempt from retirement offers and hiring freezes. The VA is one of the biggest federal employers and provides medical care to millions of veterans and families, as per the in the year, VA already lost 2,400 workers due to layoffs in February. Thousands of VA workers chose early retirement this spring to avoid future cuts. In June, thousands of veterans protested in Washington and many other states against more VA staff cuts, according to the report by The Washington reversal on big layoffs may also reflect the loss of power of Elon Musk and the DOGE team, who started cutting staff aggressively in January but later fell out with Trump and left. Some DOGE team members remain in government, working on Trump's policies like changing gun rules and federal regulations, as stated by the month, DOGE lost control over awarding billions in federal funds, showing its reduced influence. Collins thanked VA staff in his email, calling them 'an important part' of the effort to improve the agency, as mentioned in the report by The Washington the VA plans to reduce staff by about 30,000 through retirements and attrition, avoiding large VA says it has safeguards to protect veteran care and mission-critical jobs during staff reductions.
