Army Chief Naravane on two-day visit to southern command: Defence min

General M M Naravane started his two-day visit of the Indian Army's southern command on Friday as he visited the production facilities of Larsen and Toubro (L&T) and Tata Motors in Pune, Maharashtra, the Defence Ministry stated.

The Army Chief will be visiting the Indian Navy's airbase INS Hansa in Goa on Saturday, the second day of the visit, the ministry's statement noted.

"During his Pune visit, the COAS (Chief of Army Staff) visited Tata Motors at Pimpri where he observed the operations of the assembly lines of passenger and commercial vehicles and engineering research centre," it stated.

"A range of Tata vehicles including Xenon, AWD (4x4) Troop Carrier, light bullet proof vehicle and combat support vehicles, namely Mine Protected Vehicles and Wheeled Armoured Amphibious Platform AWD (8x8) configuration were on display," it mentioned.

Naravane also visited the Strategic Systems Complex (SSC) of L&T at Talegaon near Pune city to witness their production facilities and developmental efforts towards modernising the Indian armed forces, it stated.

He was briefed about various defence-related programmes and engagements of L&T with the Indian Army, it noted.

"The COAS complimented the efforts of both the indigenous manufacturers in promoting Atmanirbharta in defence manufacturing," it stated.