In a statement over the inadvertent firing of a missile on March 9, which Pakistan said landed 124 km deep inside its territory, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday assured the House that the “missile system is very reliable and safe”.
Last week, India had acknowledged that a “technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile”. Singh in Parliament said, “The Government has taken serious note of the incident. A formal high-level inquiry has been ordered. The inquiry would determine the exact cause of the said accident.” He added, “I would also like to state that a review of the Standard Operating Procedures for operations, maintenance and inspections is being conducted in the wake of this incident.”
Meanwhile, Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar will address the House regarding the crisis in Ukraine. The second leg of the Budget session in Parliament began Monday, with the Lok Sabha passing a Rs 1.12 lakh crore Budget for the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir for 2022-23. The departments of education, home, public health engineering, and power development saw the highest allocations for the financial year 2022-23.