Indian restraint on missile testing self-imposed: Pranab

New Delhi, May 15 (UNI) Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee today ruled out any political pressure against test firing of India's longest-range Surface-to-Surface missile Agni-III, saying it was a ''self-imposed restraint'' not to go ahead with it.

''We have no pressure on us... Nor are we putting any political pressure... It is just we have decided to have self-imposed restraint,'' the Minister told mediapersons here.

''As responsible members of the international community, we want to keep our international commitments on non-proliferation,'' said the Defence Minister when asked why India was not going ahead with testing of the Agni-III missile.

Self-restraint does not mean that DRDO (Defence Research&Development Organisation) cannot go ahead with cold-bed tests for the sub-systems of the missile, Minister Mukherjee said on the sidelines of a function to mark a three-day conference here of Principal Controllers and Controllers of Defence Accounts.

The Defence Minister's comments came in the wake of an assertion by the country's top Defence Scientist M Natarajan yesterday that DRDO had ''cleared all technical parameters'' for the test of the Missile which will give New Delhi the capability of hitting targets more than 4,000 kms away.

In his inaugural address to the Conference, Mr Mukherjee said his ministry planned to delegate powers on capital acquisitions to lower levels to speed up the process of weapons induction.

''Naturally, there would be a prescribed limit,'' he said while calling on defence accountants to float think-tanks for better defence financial management.

He said under his stewardship he hoped to achieve almost fifty-fifty parity in distribution of the defence budget on capital outlay and revenue as the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government had a commitment to step up modernisation of the Armed Forces.

Mr Mukherjee disclosed that internal consultations within his ministry had begun to finalise the Eleventh Defence Plan and he hoped to complete the exercise in time and ''not repeat past mistakes'' -- as when the Tenth Defence Plan had not even been drafted even after three-and-half years into the Plan period.

Minister Mukherjee told the Defence accountants that they should speedily get acquainted with the new life cycle support system being offered by the United States and other western nations as part of the weapons system sales.

He also directed them not to be lax and make efforts to ensure that there was 100 per cent utilisation of Defence budgetary grants.

''Whatever resources are allocated... they should be spent fully... There should be no surrender of funds as it would not not be acceptable,'' Mr Mukherjee said.

Earlier, Controller General of Defence Accounts Jnan Prakash -- who assumed office only last week -- gave the welcome address.

Minister of State for Defence Production Rao Inderjit Singh and Minister of State for Defence MM Pallam Raju also addressed the gathering.

UNI DG VD HT1833