Highlighting the role of the armed forces in independent India and march towards self-reliance in defence production, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday virtually inaugurated several iconic events to celebrate “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”.
The events are part of the Defence Ministry’s week-long programme starting Monday to celebrate ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ commemorating 75 years of Independence.
In his address, Rajnath also paid rich tributes to Chief of Defence Staff(CDS) General Bipin Rawat and other Armed Forces personnel, who lost their lives in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu on December eight.
“General Rawat still had a lot to do. Modernisation of our Armed Forces and complete self-reliance in the defence sector were subjects close to his heart. Now, it is our responsibility to work tirelessly to achieve the objective even sooner,” he added.
Rajnath was of the view that while India attained freedom in the fields such as agriculture, education and health post-Independence, not much attention was paid towards the defence sector.
He said, before the Government came to power in 2014, the defence sector lagged behind due to lack of investment, innovation and research and development. This led to dependency on imports to meet the defence requirements of the country and affected the strategic autonomy, he added.
The minister pointed out that the present government understood the importance of self-reliance in defence and has been making constant efforts to achieve ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in the sector.
Rajnath appreciated the fact that the private sector has contributed to about 90 per cent of country’s defence exports. He exuded confidence this active and continued partnership between the government and the private sector will help to soon achieve ‘Make in India, Make for the World’ as envisioned by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
He hoped that the week-long events will generate awareness among people about the progress made in the defence sector, instill national spirit and further strengthen their trust in the country’s defence preparedness.
Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar said, the week-long events will make people aware of the achievements, resolve and vision of DDP. He reiterated the resolve to continue to move forward without any comprise to achieve ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.
As a run up to the DefExpo-2022 and with an aim to reach out to a larger audience in India and abroad, a Virtual Exhibition named ‘Path to Pride’ was launched to showcase the journey of 75 years for ‘Aatmanirbhar’ defence manufacturing through 75 stories of growth and evolution across the domains of land, naval, air, missile and electronic systems.
This virtual interactive platform offers a repository of India’s defence capabilities, indigenisation efforts, future readiness and policy reforms, augmenting India’s emergence as the global defence manufacturing hub.
