New Delhi: "Self-reliance & secured borders are central to making India a powerful nation," said Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh at an event in New Delhi on Saturday, October 15. The Minister of Defence, in his address, echoed the Government's unwavering commitment to transforming India into one of the most powerful nations by 2047. On the same note, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is leaving no stone unturned to achieve PM Narendra Modi's vision of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat', said the minister.
Rajnath Singh underlined the Government's focus to equip the Armed Forces with state-of-the-art weapons/equipment, manufactured by a self-reliant defence industry. He listed out a number of steps taken by MoD to reduce dependency on imports, including the issuance of positive indigenisation lists. He referred to the recently-commissioned INS Vikrant and mentioned that the country will start manufacturing modern and effective water, land, sky and space defence platforms in the next ten years.
The Minister of Defence appreciated the fact that due to the steps taken by the Government in the last few years, defence exports have seen a massive leap. "There was a time when India only exported defence equipment worth Rs 1,900 crore. The figure has crossed Rs 13,000 crore.
Terming border area development as another aspect at the core of the Government's vision, Rajnath Singh said that all efforts are being made to increase connectivity with far-flung areas to further strengthen the preparedness of the Armed Forces and linking the country with people residing in the North-East region.
The Minister of Defence termed North-East as one of the major focus areas of the Government as the region is crucial for the economic, social, political and strategic development of the country.
Singh described easy and convenient connectivity with the North-East regions as a major achievement of the Government in the last 8.5 years. He stated that air, road and rail connectivity infrastructure has been strengthened. The Union Cabinet approval of the Prime Minister's Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE) is a testament to the Government's commitment towards the progress of the North-eastern states.
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