Indian Government To Spend $130 Billion In Next Eight Years On Modernising Indian forces: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

In the next seven to eight years India plans to spend over $130 billion dollars on military modernisation to strengthen its security machinery in the country, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday.

Speaking at Asia's largest military aviation exhibition -'Aero India' the Minister said, "By self-reliance, we do not mean to be isolated from the world. It actually seeks to promote globalisation by making India a more competitive player on the global stage and inviting the global companies to set up shops in India", The Indian Express reported.

The Minister added that we are going to invest more than $130 billion dollars on military modernisation in the next 7-8 years.

Singh said the government has set a target to achieve a turnover of ₹1,75,000 crore in Defence manufacturing including export of ₹35,000 crore in Aerospace and Defence goods and services, by 2024.

Many international players were invited to the event to showcase the government's initiatives to assist them in setting up manufacturing units in the country. "It reflects the growing optimism of the global community."

Chief Guest of the event, President Ram Nath Kovind, said that it is the world's first mega event of this kind to be held in a hybrid format.

He said that the event will contribute towards strengthening India's self-reliance in the defence sector and establishing India credentials as a manufacturer for the world.

"Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, I'm happy that Aero India 2021 has been organised successfully without compromising its spirit while following Covid-19 appropriate norms", added by the President.

President Kovind is the first President to attend the Aero India event.

Speaking about the Mission Sagar 1, Kovind said, "After the Covid-19 outbreak, we reached out to our neighbours and assisted them with medical teams, medicines as well as diagnostic kits, ventilators, masks, gloves and other medical supplies.