New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said though India gained independence in 1947, defence sector remained neglected, which also impacted India’s strategic autonomy.
Launching several events of Department of Defence Production (DDP) to celebrate ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, the Defence Minister said, freedom is not just a thing to be attained or earned, it is also a thing to maintain, for which one has to strive continuously.
“Freedom is not a goal, but a path. To a sovereign nation, freedom means the ability and capacity to take any decision related to defence and socio-economic development. In any situation, we can take a decision only when we are completely self-reliant,” he said.
Singh said while India attained freedom in the fields such as agriculture, education and health post-Independence, not much attention was paid towards the defence sector.
He said since independence, we have made progress on various socio economic parameters, like per capita income, life expectancy, literacy rate and infrastructure etc, But there was one sector on which we could not pay attention, and progress was not as expected. That was the defence sector.
“Before the Government came to power in 2014, the defence sector lagged behind due to lack of investment, innovation and research and development. This led to dependency on imports to meet the defence requirements of the country and affected the strategic autonomy,” he said.
The defence minister said the present government understood the importance of self-reliance in defence and has been making constant efforts to achieve ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in the sector.
“The defence sector has entered into a new era due to the policies, vision and mindset of this Government,” he added.
The Defence Minister also paid tributes to late General Bipin Rawat, the first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and laid emphasis on realising his dream of self reliance on defence as he inaugurated several events of Department of Defence Production (DDP) to celebrate ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.
“I pay my tributes to the country’s first Chief of Defense Staff, General Bipin Rawat and other brave military personnel who lost their lives in a recent accident, and express my condolences to their families,” Rajnath Singh said.
“General Rawat still had a lot to do. Modernisation of our Armed Forces and complete selfreliance in the defence sector were subjects close to his heart. Now, it is our responsibility to work tirelessly to achieve the objective even sooner,” he said.
A virtual exhibition, ‘Path to Pride’, public exhibitions, curated museums and a booklet showcasing 75 resolutions of DDP were inaugurated and launched by the Defence Minister.
Congratulating DDP for organising the week-long nation-wide events, he said, it will be helpful in spreading information about the efforts towards making India a net defence exporter from a net defence importer.
Singh also said that this government does not shy away from taking bold decisions in the interest of the nation, and listed out a number of policy reforms aimed at promoting self-reliance in defence manufacturing.
He made special mention of the corporatisation of Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), saying that the move will make OFB more effective and efficient and unleash its true potential.
Other reforms mentioned by the Minister included setting up of Defence Industrial Corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu; increasing the FDI limit to 74 per cent through automatic route and 100 per cent through Government route under certain circumstances; unveiling of draft Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020; notifying two positive indigenization lists of over 200 items; earmarking of about 64 per cent of its modernisation funds under the capital acquisition budget for 2021-22 for procurement from domestic industries and launch of Innovations For Defence Excellence (iDEX) initiative.
Singh appreciated the fact that the private sector has contributed to about 90 per cent of country’s defence exports. He exuded confidence this active and continued partnership between the Government and the private sector will help to soon achieve the objective of ‘Make in India,
Make for the World’ as envisioned by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. He hoped that the week-long events will generate awareness among people about the progress made in the defence sector, instill national spirit and further strengthen their trust in the country’s defence preparedness.
Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar meanwhile said, the week-long events will make people aware of the achievements, resolve and vision of DDP. He reiterated the resolve to continue to move forward without any comprise to achieve ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.
As a run up to the ‘DefExpo-2022’ and with an aim to reach out to a larger audience in India and abroad, a Virtual Exhibition named ‘Path to Pride’ was launched to showcase the journey of 75 years for ‘Aatmanirbhar’ defence manufacturing through 75 stories of growth and evolution across the domains of land, naval, air, missile and electronic systems. This virtual interactive platform offers a repository of India’s defence capabilities, indigenisation efforts, future readiness and policy reforms, augmenting India’s emergence as the global defence manufacturing hub.
Public exhibitions organised by Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) and Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance (DGAQA) at 75 locations across the country were also simultaneously inaugurated through virtual mode showcasing the journey of growth and development of defence manufacturing in the country.
These exhibitions will display an array of indigenous marquee defence products during the week.
The exhibitions will offer a unique opportunity to the general public to have a look and feel of modern defence weapons, arms, ammunition and other equipment. (UNI)
