Number of suicides in Army down: Antony

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Defence minister A.K. Antony on Saturday said the number of suicides in the Indian Army had reduced over the years but added that every suicide was a cause of concern.

He made the comment after being asked by reporters about the recent suicide of a soldier at an Army unit in Samba (J&K) that had sparked tension between officers and soldiers of the unit there. The minister also said he had spoken to Army Chief Gen. Bikram Singh briefly on Saturday about the incident. The minister said the Army was “handling” the matter.

The Army has already instituted a Court of Inquiry. On the pay anomalies in the armed forces and constitution of a committee, the minister said the Committee had already invited and ascertained the views of the Service chiefs on the anomalies and measures for rectification. The Committee is likely
to submit its report next week to the Government before Independence Day.

Asked about concern in the armed forces over pay anomalies, the Minister said the Government was
always sympathetic and sensitive to the concerns of the armed forces.

When asked about the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, the minister said it was "peaceful". He said there were a few disputed points along the border with China but said any unfortunate incident was only an aberration.

He also spoke about the effective functioning of the border management mechanism established
earlier with China.

Mr. Antony inaugurated the Navy's Financial Information System (FIS) which is designed to ensure "effective management of the Naval budget". Mr. Antony said the FIS would bring about a transformation in budget management in the Navy.

Referring to the total defence budget of Rs 1.93 lakh crores, the minister expressed confidence that it would go up substantially every year considering the security situation but added that the Government---despite trying its best---may not be able to allocate as much every year as what the armed forces wanted. He said there should be no wasteful expenditure of the amount allocated as budget.