Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Monday that the national efforts toward ‘Make in India’ in defence manufacturing are neither isolationist nor limited to India alone.
Regarding India’s G20 presidency, he said that the goal was to foster consensus within the G20 and shape the agenda for a “more secure, prosperous, sustainable and just world.
“It is our endeavour to transcend the relation of buyer and seller to a co-development and co-production model, irrespective of whether we are a buyer or a seller. When we export our defence equipment to friendly nations, we offer our full support to the buyer’s capability development through technology sharing, training, and co-production,” Singh said at the Ambassadors’ Conference ahead of the Aero India expo next month in Bengaluru.
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“We envision the G20 presidency as an opportunity to showcase India to the world, the three Ds of India: development, democracy and diversity,” he said.
Singh, speaking about India’s expanding defence manufacturing ecosystem, stated that India has been working to improve its defence manufacturing capabilities, particularly in the emerging areas of drones, cyber technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), radars and other equipment.
“Our defence exports have increased eightfold in the last five years, and India now exports to more than 75 countries,” he said.
“Partnership” and “joint efforts” are the two keywords that distinguish India’s defence industry partnership with other nations, according to Singh, who also stated that India does not believe in a hierarchical world order in which a few countries are considered superior to others.
“Our self-reliance initiative marks the start of a new paradigm of partnership with our partner countries,” he said, asking the envoys to encourage their defence and aerospace leaders to visit Bengaluru for Aero India.
The 14th edition of Aero India themed ‘The Runway to a Billion Opportunities,’ is set to take place from 13 to 17 February at the Air Force Station in Yelahanka, with a total area of over 1.08 lakh square metres. According to the Defence Ministry, over 645 exhibitors have registered for the event so far, with 80 countries confirming their participation.
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