Atmanirbhar Bharat! PM Modi wants India to increase defence manufacturing

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday stressed upon the need for India to become self-reliant in the defence sector. A decision has been taken to permit up to 74 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in defence manufacturing through automatic route with an aim to realise the goal, Modi also said while addressing Atmanirbhar Bharat Defence Industry Outreach Webinar.

Our resolve for 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' is not inward-looking, but for making India capable and boosting global peace and economy, said PM Modi.

He added that the ecosystem for defence manufacturing, which could have provided many jobs, had remained limited over the years. "For many years, India has been one of the biggest defence importers. When India got independence, it had great capability in defence manufacturing and an ecosystem of defence manufacturing established over 100 years. Unfortunately, this subject couldn't get requisite attention," said PM Modi.

Modi said that in the last few years, it has been the constant effort of the government to unshackle the defence manufacturing sector in India from its problems.

Speaking on the occasion, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that PM Modi has laid unprecedented focus on self-reliance. Modi wants India to be self reliant in contributing to global supply chains, Singh added. The Defence Minister also said that he expects 1.4 crore of defence procurement domestically.

Meanwhile, in a major push to boost domestic defence industry, the government recently announced restrictions on import of 101 weapons and military platforms including light combat helicopters, transport aircraft, conventional submarines and cruise missiles by 2024.

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