Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday welcomed the Union Defence Ministry's decision to rechristen the New Delhi-based Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses as the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.

"I welcome the decision of the Union Defence Ministry to rename The Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) as Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses', honoring Manohar Bhai's tremendous contribution as Defence Minister of India," Sawant said.

The late Parrikar, who served as Chief Minister of Goa on four occasions, also served as Defence Minister from 2014-2017.

Founded in 1965, the IDSA is a Defence Minister-funded think tank for strategic research and training.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Defence Ministry said that the decision to rename the IDSA after Parrikar was to "honour the commitment and legacy of the late Manohar Parrikar" and align the vision and aspirations of the premier defence institute with the contributions made by the former Defence Minister.