Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said India’s stature has grown globally and one of the reasons is the valour and commitment of the armed forces. The Minister’s assertion on Tuesday came during his two-day trip to forward posts at Bum La Pass close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC), overlooking China in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang district.

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In the back drop of the Israel and Hamas conflict and continued war between Russia and Ukraine, Rajnath Singh asserted that there is no option but to bolster the country’s security apparatus, underlining that all efforts are being made by the government to strengthen the nation’s military prowess through indigenous production of defence equipment. The valour and commitment of the Armed Forces is one of the main reasons that India’s stature has grown on the international stage, and it is now among the most powerful nations, he told the troops.

“Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, giant strides have been made towards ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defence. Earlier, we used to rely on imports to upgrade our military. But today, a number of major weapons and platforms are being manufactured within the country. Foreign companies are being encouraged to share their technology and produce the equipment in India with domestic industry. In 2014, the value of defence exports was about ₹1,000 crore, but today we are exporting defence equipment worth thousands of crores,” he said.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during a visit at Bum La, in Tawang district, Arunachal Pradesh, Tuesday
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Accompanied by Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pande and other senior officers, including General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) Eastern Command, Lt Gen RP Kalita, the Defence Minister celebrated Dussehra with troops and performed Shastra Puja at Tawang. In his address, he also described the righteousness and dharma of the brave armed forces personnel as the living testament to the ethos of the festival of Vijayadashmi.

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The Minister earlier visited the 4 Corps Headquarters at Tezpur in Assam and reviewed the operational readiness of the formation, deployed in one of the easternmost parts of the country. He was briefed on the infrastructure development along the LAC and the employment of cutting-edge military equipment and technology to enhance the operational efficiency of the troops deployed in the frontline.