NEW DELHI: India aims to develop into a “powerful and self-reliant” country that is peace-loving but “fully capable of giving a befitting reply whenever challenged”, defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday.
The armed forces are fully equipped to deal with any challenge that endangers the safety, security, unity and integrity of the country, the minister said, while flagging off a series of events to mark the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence being celebrated as ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.
Noting that the decisions aimed to promote ‘jointness’ among the armed forces will play a pivotal role in bolstering the national security infrastructure, Singh said that no stone is being left unturned to make the country self-reliant in defence manufacturing.
The country’s dependency on imports has decreased considerably due to the measures taken by the government, including notifying two ‘positive indigenisation’ lists to promote self-reliance and defence exports, he added.
Chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat, in turn, said that the armed forces are ready to deal with any challenge, stressing that efforts taken to increase jointness among the Army, Navy and the Indian Air Force will further enhance their combat capabilities.
Among the events flagged off by the defence minister were the expeditions by the Army teams to scale 75 mountain passes.
These include Saser La in Ladakh, Stakpochan in Kargil, Satopanth and Harshil in Uttarakhand, Phim Karnla in Sikkim and Point 4493 in the Tawang region of Arunachal Pradesh.
The armed forces are fully equipped to deal with any challenge that endangers the safety, security, unity and integrity of the country, the minister said, while flagging off a series of events to mark the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence being celebrated as ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.
Noting that the decisions aimed to promote ‘jointness’ among the armed forces will play a pivotal role in bolstering the national security infrastructure, Singh said that no stone is being left unturned to make the country self-reliant in defence manufacturing.
The country’s dependency on imports has decreased considerably due to the measures taken by the government, including notifying two ‘positive indigenisation’ lists to promote self-reliance and defence exports, he added.
Chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat, in turn, said that the armed forces are ready to deal with any challenge, stressing that efforts taken to increase jointness among the Army, Navy and the Indian Air Force will further enhance their combat capabilities.
Among the events flagged off by the defence minister were the expeditions by the Army teams to scale 75 mountain passes.
These include Saser La in Ladakh, Stakpochan in Kargil, Satopanth and Harshil in Uttarakhand, Phim Karnla in Sikkim and Point 4493 in the Tawang region of Arunachal Pradesh.
