india

Updated: Aug 04, 2019 09:01 IST

Defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Saturday that the government’s priority is to modernise the armed forces and meet all their needs only through indigenisation.

“I would like to reiterate that the modernisation of the armed forces is our priority. We would like to fulfil every requirement of the army through indigenisation only. For our defence capability and defence preparedness we need more indigenous production,” he said.

He also said India’s defence preparedness is primarily aimed at ensuring strategic balance and restraint.

“Our missile technology development is not to show our country’s aggression, but to defend our territory. While our neighbour names its missiles as Babar, Ghouri, Ghaznavi etc. for aggressive posturing, our missiles have names such as Prithvi, Akash, Agni, Nag, Trishul...,” Singh said at the inauguration of golden jubilee celebrations of the public sector unit Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), a PSU that manufactures defence equipment, on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

Singh added that equipment would be imported only if the situation demanded that it was important and was not being manufactured in the country. Otherwise, the government wanted all weapons to be made in the country, he said.

The defence Minister was speaking at the golden jubilee celebrations of defence PSU Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL). He also said the defence sector would play a key role in making the country a $5 trillion economy through Foreign Direct Investment and offset investment in manufacturing.

Singh appreciated the role played by BDL in the country’s defence production capabilities and assured the public sector unit full support from the government.

(With agency inputs)