AK Antony assumes office

India's 34th defence minister Antony vows to "protect national interest to the utmost". The new list of ministers

AK Antony on Wednesday assumed office as India's 34th defence minister, pledging to "protect national interest to the utmost".

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The former Kerala chief minister, who arrived at his South Block office a little after 11 am, was received by Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutt and other senior officials.

In a brief interaction with reporters in his office, he said: "Yesterday night I had a discussion with the defence secretary and other officials. They briefed me about the condition in important divisions; some important areas like modernisation were brought to my attention, as also the problems of the armed forces in general."

Antony replaces Pranab Mukherjee, who takes over as foreign minister.