Page 22 - Rajnath Singh

India cannot afford to remain dependent on defence imports, says Rajnath

A huge country like India cannot remain dependent on import of military hardware as such dependency can be "fatal" for its strategic autonomy, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday, showcasing the Modi government's priority for boosting domestic manufacturing. In an address at a conference, Singh, without elaborating, also said that India had to face "trouble" in "difficult times" in the past due to its reliance on defence imports. He said the annual volume of domestic defence production has crossed the record figure of Rs 1 lakh crore which was nearly Rs 44,000 crore around 2014. "We will be able to maintain strategic autonomy only when arms and equipment are made in our own country, by our own people. We worked towards this, and we also saw positive results," Singh said. "While around 2014, our domestic defence production was around Rs 44,000 crore, today our domestic defence production has crossed the record figure of Rs 1 lakh crore, and it is continuously growing," he

Rajnath Singh to inaugurate new building of Naval War College, Goa on Mar 5

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will inaugurate the new administrative and training building of Naval War College at INS Mandovi near Panaji on March 5, a Navy official said on Friday. Rear Admiral Arjun Dev Nair, Commandant of the Naval War College told reporters that the building will help the institute train officers from all three military services three times more than its current strength. "This modern edifice has been named as 'Chola' in commemoration of the mighty maritime empire of the Chola dynasty. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will inaugurate the new building on March 5 and the ceremony will be attended by senior naval leadership in addition to ex-commandants of the Naval War College," he said. According to him, the College of Naval Warfare was established at INS Karanja in 1988 in Mumbai to impart advanced professional military education to the middle and senior level officers of the Indian Navy. The college was renamed as Naval War College in 2010 and was shifted to ..

PM Modi to inaugurate ring road in Lucknow in 2nd week of March: Rajnath

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the ring road here in the second week of March, when he will launch several developmental projects for the country. Singh was addressing a gathering at Gomti Nagar railway station which was among over 2,000 rail infrastructure projects worth about Rs 41,000 crore launched by the prime minister this afternoon. "As far as development of Lucknow constituency is concerned, people are experiencing it. Work is on for the construction of one-two flyovers. Besides them eight-nine flyovers are sanctioned and work is to be started. "A ring road of 104 km is going on. It will be completed in the next three to four days and PM Modi will inaugurate it in the second week of March, when he will launch several projects for the country," Singh said. The minister said, "In today's programme, UP projects worth about Rs 1,876 crore are being inaugurated or foundation stones (are being) laid for them. It included

India's defence budget masks capital allocations to each service

The only way to estimate the capital allocation for each service is to calculate the allocations to each service over the preceding decade

Rs 3 trn by FY29: Rajnath lays down ambitious defence production target

The defence minister also raised the annual export target for aerospace and defence services and production to Rs 50,000 crore in the same time frame

3 services worked in 'silos', now they have better coordination: Rajnath

India's annual defence production is expected to touch a whopping Rs 3 lakh crore and exports of military hardware is poised to reach Rs 50,000 crore, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Saturday. In an address at a defence conclave, Singh, delving into structural defence reforms, said the three services used to work in "silos" earlier but now they are ready with better coordination to deal with every challenge jointly. He said capital acquisition projects worth more than Rs 4,35,000 crore have been given in-principle approval in the financial year 2023-24, and the government is aiming for production of high-end systems like aero-engines and gas turbines in India in the next five years. Singh noted that the government has been focusing on jointness among the Indian Army, the Navy and the Indian Air Force that would ensure enhanced coordination in times of "crisis". "Earlier, the three Services used to work in silos. We focused on their integration which was an out-of-the-box ste

Rajnath Singh holds talks with Dutch defence minister Kajsa Ollongren

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday held talks with his Dutch counterpart Kajsa Ollongren with a focus on boosting industrial defence cooperation. In the meeting, Singh said Dutch original equipment manufacturers could be encouraged to integrate Indian vendors into their supply chains. "Both ministers discussed the possibilities for expanding their bilateral defence cooperation, particularly in maritime and industrial domains," the defence ministry said. "They noted the increased interaction between the two navies and expressed keenness to work together to enhance maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region," it said in a statement. It said Singh suggested that Dutch original equipment manufacturers could be encouraged to integrate Indian vendors into their supply chains. "India has developed a vibrant innovation and industrial ecosystem. Given the Indian and Dutch complementarities in skills, technology and scale, both sides were in agreement to encourage more interactions

BJP has ended credibility crisis in politics, claims Rajnath in Odisha

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday claimed that the BJP has ended the "credibility crisis in politics" created by the Congress and the party has won the trust of people by fulfilling promises. Singh addressing party workers of three Lok Sabha constituencies of Nabarangpur, Kalahandi and Bolangir, said: "The people had lost their trust in politicians as the Congress people do not fulfil promises made to people during elections. However, the BJP won the trust of the people by fulfilling all its promises. Therefore, the crisis of credibility in politics has ended. People now have faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi." Launching a scathing attack on the Congress, the Defence minister said that the Congress used to "forget" the promises made to the people after elections for which the people had "lost faith" in politicians. However, things have changed since Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, he said. "You can check our election manifesto and find that all the promises are met

Rajnath on cluster tour in Odisha, to hold public meeting at Mayurbhanj

The Minister will leave for Odisha from Vishakhapatnam in a few hours to attend meeting with ex-servicemen, BJP party bearers and attend public gathering

Mega defence expo to be organised in Pune between Feb 24-26: Fadnavis

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said a mega defence expo will be organised by the state government in Pune from February 24 to 26. Speaking to reporters here, he said the state government has requested Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to attend but a confirmation on whether he would visit has not been received as yet.

Rajnath, Munda, other ministers discuss farmers' issue amid protests

Senior Union ministers, including Rajnath Singh and Arjun Munda, on Wednesday held discussions on the ongoing farmers' protests and ways to address the issues, according to sources. The meeting in the national capital assumes significance against the backdrop of farmers from Punjab marching towards Delhi and Haryana Police using tear gas shells to stop them at the Shambhu border between the two states. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, also a former agriculture minister, deliberated upon various farmer issues with Munda, who is currently in charge of the agriculture ministry. Munda is also one of the ministers who held discussions with farmer groups, the sources said. Details about the meeting could not be immediately ascertained. Thousands of farmers, who are seeking a guaranteed minimum support price (MSP) among other demands, started their 'Delhi Chalo' march on Tuesday. Haryana Police lobbed tear gas shells at farmers from Punjab at the Shambhu border as thousands of protesters

Defence minister Rajnath Singh to address mega rally in Assam's Barpeta

Union Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to visit Assam on February 29, where he will address a mega rally in the Barpeta Lok Sabha Constituency, according to a BJP official

We take such decision after rising above politics: Rajnath on Bharat Ratna

Former Prime Minister and veteran Congress leaders PV Narsimha Rao and Chaudhary Charan Singh will be conferred the Bharat Ratna, PM Modi announced on Friday

Bharat Ratna: 'Dil jeet liya', says Jayant; Sonia welcomes announcement

Political leaders congratulate and pay tribute to the winners of this year's Bharat Ratna awards - P V Narasimha Rao, Chaudhary Charan Singh, and M S Swaminathan. Here is what they had to say

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commissions INS Sandhayak, warns pirates

INS Sandhayak, the first of four Survey Vessel Large (SVL) ships, was commissioned into the Indian Navy on Saturday at the Naval Dockyard in Visakhapatnam, in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Stating that the SVL ship will go a long way in obtaining information about the oceans and achieving the twin objectives of protecting the country as well as others, Singh warned that those involved in maritime piracy and smuggling will not be tolerated. The primary role of INS Sandhayak is to carry out full scale hydrographic surveys of ports, harbours, navigational channels, routes, coastal areas and deep seas to enable safe marine navigation. "Many choke points, like the Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Guinea etc. are present in the Indian Ocean, through which a large amount of international trade takes place. Many threats remain at these choke points, the biggest being from pirates," Singh said, referring to the Indian Navy's prompt response to rescue ships from pirates. The minister

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh thanks PM Modi for Bharat Ratna to Advani

Taking to the social media platform, X, the Defence Minister said that Advani Ji also played an important role in keeping the unity and integrity of India intact

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commissions INS Sandhayak in Visakhapatnam

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh along with Indian Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar commissioned INS Sandhayak at Naval Dockyard in Visakhapatnam on Saturday

India-US cooperation can strengthen rules-based world order: Rajnath Singh

Rajnath Singh was addressing the Special Session of the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce in New Delhi

India-US cooperation to make democratic world order stronger: Rajnath Singh

'Our work together will be beneficial not only to us but to the entire world,' said Rajnath Singh

India, UK relationship 'force for good': UK home secretary James Cleverly

Terming the UK-India relationship a "force for good", British Home Secretary James Cleverly has said that the two countries can work to prevent conflict from spilling over and engulfing other parts of the world. Speaking at India Global Forum's 6th annual UK-India Parliamentary Lunch at the House of Lords on Wednesday, Cleverly said that the intellectual horsepower of India is enormous and getting bigger. The intellectual horsepower of India is enormous and getting bigger. Whether it is dealing with potential future pandemics or dealing with non-communicable diseases or dealing with the opportunities and risks of Artificial Intelligence or financial services or sustainable agriculture, I struggle to think of any sector where coordination and cooperation between the UK and India will not be a force for good in the world, he said. Against the backdrop of major global conflicts, and following the first visit by an Indian Defence Minister (Rajnath Singh) to Britain in 22 years, Cleverly