NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh drew attention to the government’s push towards Make in India for defence production, noting that around 100 countries having chosen Indian military equipment for their armed forces. Rajnath was enumerating the achievements of the PM Modi government as it completed 11 years in office. “The government’s persistent efforts are bearing fruit as the annual defence production, which was around Rs 40,000 crore in 2014, has crossed the record figure of Rs 1.30 lakh crore, and defence exports, which were Rs 686 crore in 2014, skyrocketed to Rs 23,622 crore in FY 2024-25,” he underlined. “We have set a target of Rs 1.75 lakh crore defence production this year and Rs three lakh crore by 2029. Our defence exports should reach Rs 30,000 crore this year and Rs 50,000 crore by 2029,” he said.”In the last 11 years, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has transformed India’s security apparatus by changing the attitude and the way of action towards every issue related to national security, and the world witnessed this shift during Operation Sindoor,” said Rajnath, while addressing a dialogue on ‘National Security & Terrorism’ in Dehradun on Monday.Rajnath listed out the steps taken by the government to strengthen the defence sector, including increasing the defence budget from Rs 2.53 lakh crore in Financial Year (FY) 2013-14 to Rs 6,22 lakh crore in FY 2024-25, reserving 75% of the budget for capital procurement from domestic companies and the issuance of a total of 10 Positive Indigenisation Lists, comprising over 5,500 items. “Today, the Indian armed forces use state-of-the-art weapons, missiles, tanks and other systems/platforms manufactured within the country. Our indigenous missiles such as Agni, Prithvi & BrahMos stand ready to give a befitting reply to the enemy. We also have the strength to build aircraft carriers such as INS Vikrant,” he added.Highlighting the strategy adopted by the government to deal with terrorism and strengthen national security, Rajnath said the defence sector has emerged as one of the strongest pillars of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, and the weapons/platforms used during Operation Sindoor were made in India. “Today, India is not only protecting its borders, but is also creating a system which is making us strategically, economically and technically strong. Earlier, we were completely dependent on foreign defence equipment, but today India is rapidly becoming Aatmanirbhar in defence,” he said.
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