AMN / WEB DESK
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh celebrated Dussehra with Army soldiers at a forward base in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang today. He also performed “Shastra Puja” (worship of weapons) on the occasion.
Raksha Mantri visited the forward posts in Arunachal Pradesh and carried out first-hand on-ground assessment of the operational preparedness of the Armed Forces there.
Mr Singh expressed gratitude to the unyielding spirit, unwavering commitment and unparalleled courage of the troops, who are deployed on the borders in tough conditions, but always ensure that the nation and its people are safe. He said, the entire nation is proud of the Armed Forces and is standing with them.
In his address, he described the righteousness and dharma of the brave Armed Forces personnel as the living testament to the ethos of the festival of Vijayadashmi.
The Raksha Mantri pointed out that the valour and commitment of the Armed Forces is one of the main reasons that India’s stature has grown on the international stage and it is now among the most powerful nations.
In view of the current global scenario, Mr Singh asserted that there is no option but to bolster the country’s security apparatus, underlining that all efforts are being made by the Government to strengthen the nation’s military prowess through indigenous production of defence equipment. He said, under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, giant strides have been made towards ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defence.
The Defence Minister said, earlier, we used to rely on imports to upgrade our military. But today, a number of major weapons & platforms are being manufactured within the country. He said foreign companies are being encouraged to share their technology and produce the equipment in India with domestic industry.
In 2014, the value of defence exports was about 1,000 crore rupees, but today we are exporting defence equipment worth thousands of crores,” he said.
The Defence Minister also visited the Tawang War Memorial, where he laid a wreath and offered tributes to the bravehearts who made the supreme sacrifice during the 1962 war.
He was accompanied by Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Pande; General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) Eastern Command Lt Gen RP Kalita; GOC, 4 Corps Lt Gen Manish Erry and other senior officers of the Indian Army.