May 3, 2002	Friday	Safar 19, 1423

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NEW DELHI, May 2: The Indian government has given the military the green light to put in place a strategic force to take command of the country’s nuclear arsenal, officials said on Thursday.

The government’s go-ahead was given to a parliamentary watchdog body which oversees the functioning of the defence ministry, they said, adding the MPs’ panel placed a copy of the official endorsement in parliament on Thursday.

The nuclear command-and-control system would “encompass India’s strategic missiles, ballistic systems as well as space-based communication and reconnaissance systems under an umbrella”, a defence ministry official said. —AFP