Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that India has been focusing on ‘aatmanirbharta’ (self-reliance) in its defence sector in the last few years and the Union Budget 2022 shows this commitment.
PM Modi addressed a webinar titled ‘Aatmanirbharta in Defence – Call to Action’ where he highlighted the role of Budget 2022-23 in contributing towards India’s self-reliance in the defence sector.
In the last few years, India has been focusing on ‘aatmanirbharta’ in its defence sector. You can see the commitment for it in this year’s budget too”: PM Modi said in the post-budget webinar, as quoted by news agency ANI.
He recalled that India had a high defence manufacturing strength even during British rule and right after independence.
“In WWII, arms manufactured in India played a major role. However, in the following years, this strength weakened. But this shows that India never had a dearth of capabilities,” he mentioned.
Talking about the Aatmanirbhar Campaign, PM Modi said that when India imports weapons from other countries, the process for it is so long that many of them become outdated by the time they reach the security forces. “The solution is in the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ and ‘Make in India’,” he added.
“The main principle of security is that you should have your own customised and unique system. If 10 countries have the same type of defence equipment, your defence forces would have no uniqueness. Uniqueness and surprise element possible only when equipment develops in your own country,” he stressed.
It is a source of happiness that in the last five-six years, India has increased defence exports by six times, PM Modi said.
