Defence Minister Rajnath Singh interacts with troops in Siachen

In his first visit as Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh on Monday visited the world's highest battlefield - the Siachen Glacier - where he interacted with Army troops and paid tributes to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty.

"I salute your spirit, your valour from the bottom of my heart. Jawans and officers in the Armed forces have a sense of pride, that is the strongest sentiment in the heart of any human," Singh said while addressing personnel at the Siachen Base Camp.

In a series of tweets, Rajnath lauded the personnel for performing their duty with great courage despite unfavourable terrain.

"Visited a forward post and Siachen base camp today and interacted with the Army personnel serving in this region which is also known as the 'the highest battle field in the world'," he wrote.

"Our soldiers in Siachen are performing their duty with great courage and fortitude even in extreme conditions and treacherous terrain. I salute their vigour and valour," Rajnath added in another tweet.

The Defence Minister praised the troops and said he will send thank you notes to the parents of the personnel deployed in the area.

"I am proud of all Army personnel serving in Siachen who are leaving no stone unturned to defend our motherland. I am also proud of their parents who have sent their children to serve the nation by joining the Armed forces. I will personally send a thank you note to them," another tweet from Rajnath read.

"Paid tributes to the martyred soldiers who sacrificed their lives while serving in Siachen. More than 1100 soldiers have made supreme sacrifice defending the Siachen Glacier. The nation will always remain indebted to their service and sacrifice," read another tweet by Singh.

The Defence Minister is accompanied by Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, Northern Army Commander Lt General Ranbir Singh and other senior officials from the Defence Ministry.

Rajnath is in Siachen to review the security situation along the borders with Pakistan. Later in the day, he will visit Srinagar and meet Indian Army personnel there.

During the day-long visit, the Minister would be briefed about the security situation in the Kashmir valley and the counterinsurgency operations being carried out by the security forces.

After taking over as the Defence Minister on June 1, Rajnath had asked the officers-in-charge of different departments to prepare a detailed presentation for him on the ongoing projects and programmes and brief him on them soon.

The officers have also been asked to complete the projects in a time-bound manner to move effectively towards modernising the armed forces.