By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 29 Sept: Governor Lt-General Gurmit Singh (Retd) virtually participated as a keynote speaker in the programme, “India towards Self-Reliance in Defence Sector”, organised by the Global Counter Terrorism Council (GCTC). In his address, the Governor said that self-reliant India campaign is a movement that aims to make India self-reliant in all aspects. New, futuristic or emerging technologies are to be developed in the country. He said that India is reducing imports in the defence sector over time and promoting indigenization, which shows self-reliance. In the words of the Prime Minister, the self-reliant India campaign aims to make India one of the largest military powers in the world by developing a modern military industry in the country.
The Governor added that while promoting Make in India, indigenous production of items related to defence and aerospace will have to be encouraged. Joint efforts of the government and private companies would help in achieving India’s goal of self-reliance in the defence sector. Along with this, direct and indirect employment opportunities will be created and growth of private domestic manufacturers, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and start-ups will be boosted. He said that because of political will and tough decisions, there has been a practical change in the mechanism related to defence manufacturing.