Union minister Rajnath Singh will visit the National War Memorial in Delhi on Saturday before formally taking charge as defence minister.
"Shall visit the National War Memorial tomorrow (Saturday) morning and pay tributes to our brave soldiers who sacrificed their lives in service to the nation. Later, I shall be formally taking charge as the RM of this country," Rajnath Singh said in a tweet.
"Look forward to further strengthen National Security and Defence," he added.
Shall visit the National War Memorial tomorrow morning and pay tributes to our brave soldiers who sacrificed their lives in service to the nation. Later I shall be formally taking charge as the RM of this country.
Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) May 31, 2019
Look forward to further strengthen National Security & Defence.
Earlier, it was reported that three services -- Army, Air Force and Navy have prepared a presentation for the new Defence Minister about their plans for modernisation.
The defence ministry and the three services have prepared a detailed presentation for the new raksha mantri who is expected to take over on Saturday.
"The defence ministry and the three services have prepared a long list of equipment that is required for their modernisation. The defence minister will be given a complete briefing on the major requirements of the three forces," government officials said.
The three services chiefs are expected to call on the defence minister on Saturday after he takes over.
The defence ministry and the integrated defence staff are also planning to hold a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) at the earliest to push for modernisation.
Modernisation of armed forces needs a two-pronged solution. The first is that more funds need to be allocated for defence.
The defence budget had whittled down to its lowest-ever level as a percentage of the GDP at 1.4%. While India remains the second largest importer of defence equipment, it also needs to produce more military platforms indigenously.
The "Make in India" programme and the Strategic Partnership Model in defence acquisition of the previous NDA government needs to be energised and made to deliver results.
New defence minister Rajnath Singh was highly impressed with the Indian Coast Guard during his stint as home minister and had asked had asked the Defence Ministry to put it under its control.
The three services and the Indian Coast Guard are the four forces under the Defence Ministry along with a large civilian force working in the ordnance factories and the public sector units and shipyards spread across the country.
Rajnath Singh will get able support from Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra, who got an extension in service tenure from the government. Sanjay Mitra was supposed to retire on Friday but now his tenure has been extended by three months.
Rajnath will take over from Nirmala Sitharaman who has been allotted the Finance ministry.
(With inputs from ANI)