Shekatkar Committee

WHY IN NEWS?

Government has accepted and implemented three important recommendations of Committee of Experts (CoE) under the Chairmanship of Lt General D B Shekatkar relating to border Infrastructure. These were related to speeding up road construction, leading to socio economic development in the border areas.

ABOUT SHEKATKAR COMMITTEE

• The Shekatkar Committee was set up by former defence minister Manohar Parrikar and submitted its report in December 2016.
• The report is the guiding principle for ongoing defence reforms and has been never been made public because it covers operational aspects of the armed forces and its disclosure is not in the interests of national security.
• It recommended that India’s defence budget to be in the range of 2.5 to 3 per cent of the GDP, keeping in mind possible future threats.
• It had recommended various reforms and optimization of functions within in the Army.
• Also, called for enhancement in standards for recruitment of clerical staff and other supporting staffs.