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Rajnath Singh
The three-day Army Commanders' Conference began here on Wednesday, during which Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will release the 'Land Warfare Doctrine' -- a vision document providing an overarching framework to prepare the force for challenges posed by the evolving character of warfare and future conflicts. It brings together the senior leadership of the Indian Army to deliberate on the evolving security environment, operational preparedness, capability development and future-ready transformation initiatives, officials said. Chaired by the Chief of the Army Staff, Gen Dhiraj Seth, the apex-level biannual forum is being held from October 21-23, the defence ministry said. "With its comprehensive agenda, the conference will provide an important forum for the senior leadership of the Army to review ongoing initiatives, identify future thrust areas and formulate appropriate policy directions towards building a progressive, adaptive, technologically enabled and future-ready Indian Army,"
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday announced that India will host the first Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Civilisational Dialogue Forum by the end of this year and invited all member countries to participate in it. Singh made these remarks while addressing the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. "India, at the end of this year, will host the first SCO Civilisational Dialogue Forum. We invite all SCO member countries to participate in it," Singh said. During the SCO summit of the Council of Heads of State in Tianjin in 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed to create a Civilisational Dialogue Forum to strengthen people-to-people ties and allow sharing of the richness of ancient civilisations, art, literature, and traditions on a global stage. Singh also mentioned the 25-year journey of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. "At the SCO Summit in Bishkek, our leaders had highlighted the 25-year journey of the Shanghai Cooperation
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will represent India at the upcoming meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, to be held at Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on October 19-20, the government said on Sunday. The meeting will focus on strengthening multilateral cooperation among the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), particularly in the areas of trade, economy, investment, connectivity, innovation and cultural-humanitarian exchanges, the defence ministry said. India remains actively engaged in various SCO mechanisms and continues to contribute to regional cooperation through initiatives in areas such as startups and innovation, digital public infrastructure, and people-to-people exchanges, it said in a statement. "Singh will visit Dushanbe to represent India at the 25th meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (CHG) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, scheduled to be held on October 19-20," the ministry said. The
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday launched Fleet Support Ship 1 (FSS 1), laid the keel of FSS-5 and also inaugurated the upgraded Slipway-4 and a 300-tonne Goliath Crane at the Hindustan Shipyard Ltd here. These milestones demonstrate India's indigenous shipbuilding competencies, a PIB press release said. The upgraded Slipway-4, with its extended length and enhanced load-bearing capability, supported by the goliath crane will enable the shipyard to build and launch vessels of up to 45,000 DWT. This is a prominent expansion of the shipyard's capacity to undertake large and complex platforms. Likewise, FSS-1, the first of five fleet support ships being built for the Indian Navy, entered the waters of the Bay of Bengal just 18 months after steel cutting, said the press release. "These 43,500-tonne vessels will replenish warships at sea, extending the Navy's endurance and reach across the Indian Ocean Region. The keel laying of FSS-5 will mark the programme's steady march ..
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday urged people to remain vigilant against internal strife, saying some individuals have repeatedly betrayed the nation for their narrow interests and caused severe harm to the country, even without using weapons, through their ideology and actions. "Freedom is not merely a right, it comes with responsibility. Democracy is not limited to just casting a vote, it also entails fulfilling one's duties, respecting the Constitution and discharging one's responsibilities towards the nation," he said Singh was speaking at the inauguration of the Fragrance Park and unveiling of the statues of Lala Lajpat Rai and Shaheed Bhagat Singh in Lucknow's Chowk area. "We have lost our independence a number of times in the past due to infighting. Some people have always taken advantage of this. For the sake of their narrow interests, they have repeatedly betrayed India. Even without weapons, such individuals have caused immense harm to India through their ideolog
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said India's domestic defence production has nearly quadrupled over the last decade to around Rs 1.80 lakh crore, while exports have surged to nearly Rs 39,000 crore, as the country moves steadily towards self-reliance in the defence sector. Singh made the remarks after laying the foundation stone of a Rs 472-crore facility for the overhaul of T-series battle tanks at the 57-year-old Vehicle Factory Jabalpur (VFJ), an ordnance unit here. "Domestic defence (arms and ammunition) production, which stood at Rs 46,000 crore in 2014, has now reached approximately Rs 1.80 lakh crore. Similarly, defence exports have increased from around Rs 1,000 crore in 2014 to nearly Rs 39,000 crore," he said. The government has set a target of achieving defence exports worth Rs 50,000 crore by 2028-29, the defence minister said. "India's defence sector has now taken firm steps towards complete self-reliance. The world's perception of India is changing, and the
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday laid the foundation stone of a Rs 472-crore facility for the overhaul of T-series battle tanks at Vehicle Factory Jabalpur (VFJ), an ordnance unit in Madhya Pradesh. Under the upcoming project, the facility will overhaul 80 T-72 and T-90 tanks annually, officials said. The Indian Army requires the overhaul of around 230 such tanks every year, they said. The Heavy Vehicles Factory, Avadi (in Chennai), currently overhauls around 150 tanks annually. The new facility at the 57-year-old VFJ will bridge the remaining shortfall, the officials said. VFJ is a premier military vehicle manufacturing unit operating under Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited and the Ministry of Defence. Established in 1969, the factory initially produced Shaktiman 3T vehicles in collaboration with Germany's MAN, as well as Nissan 1T and Jonga vehicles in collaboration with Japan's Nissan Motors Co. The factory complex is spread over 330 acres, while its adjoining estate c
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved the transfer of DRDO-developed technologies of all conventional missile systems to the Indian defence industry for production within the country. The defence ministry, making the announcement, said the move is an "important milestone" in promoting greater participation of the domestic industries in the defence ecosystem. "The provision will enable successful transition of missile system development to industrial production, reflecting the continued efforts of DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) to leverage the capabilities of the Indian industry for the development and manufacture of advanced defence systems," the ministry said. It said the objective is to enhance domestic manufacturing capabilities, strengthen the defence industrial base and create opportunities for the participation of Indian MSMEs and other technology partners in the supply chain.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday virtually laid the foundation stone for five brownfield expansion projects of the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, and Yantra India Ltd, from Kolkata. Singh was accompanied by West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari during the foundation laying ceremony here. The projects comprise three facilities of GRSE and two of Yantra India. Speaking on the occasion, Singh said foundation was laid for five projects worth nearly Rs 3,500 crore in West Bengal. "The state will take steps to usher in a new renaissance of development. The news of closures and lockouts of factories in West Bengal has now been replaced by the launch of new projects," he said. As part of its capacity expansion, GRSE has signed lease agreements with the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata (SMPK) for two small shipyards on either bank of the Hooghly, along with a 32-acre riverside property at Raichak, to enhance its capabilities in warship construction and refit, a
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday described preventive healthcare as the "future model" of the healthcare system, citing changing disease patterns, rising treatment costs and India's ageing population as key reasons for shifting the focus towards early detection and prevention. Addressing the inauguration of a Mahajan Imaging and Labs facility here, Singh said non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, cancer, kidney failure and mental health disorders were increasingly becoming major health concerns. "These diseases do not develop in a day. They develop gradually in the body over years. High sugar, high cholesterol, fatty liver and borderline blood pressure are all warning signs. The future of healthcare lies in identifying these warning signs in time," he said. Singh said preventive healthcare also made economic sense as treating advanced diseases could cost lakhs of rupees, while annual health check-ups, lifestyle counselling, early screenin
Military projects worth over Rs 8.75 lakh crore have been approved in the last one year as the government is committed to modernise the armed forces to bolster India's combat capabilities, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday. In a message to the armed forces on the eve of Independence Day, Singh also said that India has emerged as a major power in global defence manufacturing, with exports of military hardware surging to Rs 38,424 crore in 2025-26 driven by a significant push toward indigenous production. "The government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is according the highest priority to the modernisation of the defence forces driven by a self-reliant and future-ready defence sector," Singh said. Highlighting the "transformative shift" in the defence sector in the last 12 years, Singh asserted that India has become a nation which is effectively catering to its own security needs, while emerging as a global defence manufacturing hub and a net defence
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday slammed Pakistan for making terrorism a "part of its state policy", and said there will be no talks with the country other than on Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir, which is a "part of India illegally occupied" by it. In his address at the Kargil War Memorial here, the defence minister also said that Operation Sindoor clearly demonstrated what will be the fate of those who attempt to threaten India with terrorism, asserting that the country can respond to any misadventure by Pakistan in a manner "beyond their imagination". The occasion was the 27th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas, with Singh describing India's victory in the Kargil war in 1999 as "a diamond studded in the crown of Bharat Mata". Recalling the Operation Sindoor conducted in May 2025 in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, he said the Indian armed forces dealt a severe blow to the backers and supporters of terrorism. "Operation Sindoor made it clear what the fate will be of those