India’s defence imports have come down by 21% : PM Modi

While speaking at a naval seminar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India’s defence imports have come down by about 21% in the last four-five years and the country is moving fast from being the biggest defence importer to becoming a big exporter.

The seminar was organised by the Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) and the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM).

The prime minister also showed concerns highlighting the importance of self-reliance in the defence sector. He said dependence on imports for small requirements of the armed forces could pose serious strategic challenges.

The PM said, “As India is establishing itself on the global stage, there are constant attacks through misinformation, disinformation and false publicity, etc. Keeping faith, the forces harming India's interests, whether in the country or abroad, have to be thwarted in their every effort. National defence is no longer limited to borders, but is much broader. Therefore, it is equally necessary to make every citizen aware about it.”

In his address, the prime minister said his government has developed a new defence ecosystem in the country to boost domestic defence manufacturing. Rs 13,000 crore worth of defence export was achieved last year and more than 70 per cent of it was from the private sector, he said.