AMN / HYDERBAD
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said modernization of the armed forces is the priority of the government. He made it clear that every need of the armed forces will be fulfilled through indigenous technology.
He was speaking at a programme held at Bharat Dynamics Limited in Hyderabad on the occasion of its golden jubilee celebrations. Mr Singh said defence equipment will be imported only when it cannot be manufactured indigenously.
The Defence Minister said India will be reaching a respectable position in defence exports by 2025 and asked Bharat Dynamics Limited to play a key role in achieving this goal.
He reiterated that the country’s defence policy is for maintaining peace and stability at regional, continental and global level.
Mr Singh added that the defence sector will play a key role in making the country a 5-trillion economy through FDI and offset investments in manufacturing.
The Defence Minister said India has been successful in making the world realize that there is no good or bad terrorism. He also made it clear that India cannot have a policy other than Zero Tolerance on Terrorism.
Stating that the country used to depend on imports for defence equipment earlier, Mr Singh said indigenisation has gone up considerably due to the hard work by agencies like Bharat Dynamics Limited. He said over one lakh missiles have been produced in the country so far.
On the occasion, the Defence Minister handed over Medium Range Surface to Air Missile to Vice Chief of Air, Marshal RKS Bhaduria. It has been developed with the Israeli technology.
Rajnath Singh also inaugurated a rain water harvesting facility named as ‘JAL Nidhi’ at an upcoming unit of Bharat Dynamics Limited at Ibrahimpatnam. He also opened a 5 MW solar power plant set up at the company.
Later, the Defence Minister interacted with Veer Naris from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.