Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has said that the Government is developing a strong base of domestic defence industrial ecosystem to make India a strategic economy. Addressing the 21st convocation ceremony of Tezpur University on December 31, 2023 at Tezpur, Raksha Mantri said, the ministry is making all efforts to achieve the target of becoming self-reliant in the defence sector.

Highlighting the various steps taken by the Ministry of Defence to achieve Aatmnirbharta in defence, Shri Rajnath Singh stressed that for the first time, the import of arms was restricted. “We issued five positive indigenization lists, under which 509 such defence equipment have been identified, whose manufacturing will now be done indigenously. In addition, we have also issued 4 positive indigenization lists of Defence Public Sector Undertakings, in which 4,666 items have been identified which will now be manufactured in our country,” said Raksha Mantri.

Underscoring the government's focus on domestic defence manufacturing, he quoted that for the first time, the production has crossed the record figure of Rs. One Lakh Crore. “The total value of India's defence exports, which was Rs 1,521 crore in 2016-17, has increased almost 10 times to reach a record level of Rs 15,920 crore in 2022-23,” he stated.

Shri Rajnath Singh elaborated on the proactive attitude of the present government in tackling any situation, which has replaced the crisis of credibility with a culture of confidence. “India is no more tolerant of the “let-it-be” approach. Today, under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the new India believes in “let’s-do-it” approach,” he said.

On the issue of women empowerment, Shri Rajnath Singh said, the government has taken steps to ensure proper representation of women in all sectors including the military. “Today, women are walking shoulder to shoulder with men in every field in the country. From fighter planes to Chandrayan, there is no field in which the presence of women is not seen,” said Raksha Mantri.

Underscoring the significant role of youth in making the country Viksit Bharat, Raksha Mantri said, the idea of making India an economic and military superpower is based on confidence in the capabilities of talented youth. “To empower the youth and enhance their capabilities, our government has promoted start-up culture and innovation ecosystem”, he added.

Mentioning the start-up culture initiated by the Ministry in the Defence Industrial Sector, Shri Rajnath Singh said the Innovation for Defence Excellence (iDEX) has been successfully promoting innovative ideas since its inception. “Because of the various efforts by the Government to promote entrepreneurship among youth, today there are over one lakh start-ups in the country,” he said.

ABB/Anand