Rajnath Singh Chairs Meeting Of Consultative Committee For MoD On Self-reliance

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday chaired a meeting of the Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Defence on ‘Self-reliance in Defence Manufacturing’ in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

During the meeting, the committee members from both Houses of Parliament were apprised about the initiatives the Ministry of Defence (MoD) took to achieve ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defence and the progress achieved, so far, due to the decisions.

The Minister said, “Government’s constant endeavour to enhance the security of the country and make the Armed Forces technologically advanced to deal with challenges emanating out of the ever-evolving global scenario. A number of decisions have been taken to achieve the objective.”

He added that these include constant increases in the defence budget, including capital outlay; earmarking of a record 75 per cent of the defence capital procurement budget for the domestic industry in the Financial Year 2023-24 and issuance of positive indigenisation lists.

Rajnath Singh asserted that the Government’s decisions have started to bear fruit and today the country is indigenously manufacturing submarines, fighter jets, helicopters and weapons.

He added that the growing defence industry is catering to domestic requirements and fulfilling friendly countries’ security needs. In the last financial year, our defence production crossed Rs 1 lakh crore and exports touched Rs 16,000 crore. This proves that the defence sector and the nation are on the right path.