Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the government has taken several reforms to make the country’s defence sector self-reliant. Addressing the armed forces on the eve of Independence Day on Akashwani this evening, Mr Singh said, that defence equipment worth six lakh crore rupees was procured from indigenous companies in the last ten years. He said the country’s defence production doubled in the same period. He said domestic defence production has crossed the one lakh 25 thousand crore rupees mark.

The Minister pointed out that there was a time when India was known as an arms-importing country, but now it is moving beyond this and making its mark as an exporter. He said the country’s defence exports reached a record level of 21 thousand crore rupees in 2023-24. The Defence Minister said, six lakh 22 thousand crore rupees has been allocated to the Defence Ministry in this year’s Union Budget, which is the highest among all Ministries. Mr Singh said the budgetary allocation for Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) to promote innovation in the defence sector has also been increased to 518 crore rupees as compared to last year’s 115 crore rupees. The Minister highlighted that the country is continuously moving towards self-reliance in the manufacturing of weapons, tanks, fighter jets, helicopters and missile systems for the armed forces.            

Underscoring the importance of youth in the armed forces, the Minister said, the Agnipath scheme will increase the strength of the country. He said the Agnipath scheme is getting support from all over the country. He said, the country’s youth are joining the country’s armies with great enthusiasm. He said, that in the first two batches of the Agnipath scheme, 40 thousand Agniveers have completed their training.