New Delhi: India is working to strengthen a new defense ecosystem, which is bringing down imports and giving a boost to exports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said. He was speaking at the Naval Innovation and Indigenization Organization (NIIO) Seminar ‘Swavlamban’ in New Delhi.
“We developed the habit of being dependent on foreign countries for even the simplest products. To change this mindset, we worked on a mission mode after 2014, after learning from the approach of the past, to create a new ecosystem of defense with the help of ‘Sabka Prayas’,” PM Modi said.
India has been working to decrease its reliance on imported weapons. Calling “self-reliance” in defense crucial for India in the 21st century, PM Modi said, “Creating 75 indigenous techs for the Navy by August 15 next year is the first step. The goal should be to take India’s defense to unprecedented heights by the time we celebrate 100 years of Independence.”
“A large part of the budget earmarked for the purchase of defense equipment is being spent on procurement from Indian companies. In the last four-five years, our defense imports have come down by about 21 percent. We are moving fast from being a major defense importer to becoming a big exporter,” he added.
So far the government has brought out a list of 310 military systems and equipment, which, in phases, will be taken out of the import list. Defense minister Rajnath Singh said, “We’ve achieved self-reliance in many areas and due to which, a new image of India has emerged in the world. Under Atmanirbhar Abhiyaan, the Navy spent over 64 percent of its capital budget for domestic procurement in the last financial year and it’ll increase up to 70 percent this year.”
