To commemorate the first death anniversary of India’s first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, his bust was unveiled by Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Ajay Bhatt at United Service Institution of India (USI) in New Delhi on December 10, 2022. During the ceremony, rich tributes were paid to General Rawat by the Raksha Rajya Mantri, current CDS General Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Pande and other serving and retired members of the military fraternity.
The Armed Forces and the USI have taken the initiative to institute a Chair of Excellence and a Memorial Lecture in the memory of General Bipin Rawat at the Institution. During his illustrious service, India’s first CDS was conferred with PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM and Padma Vibhushan (posthumously). He was a visionary leader and a scholar soldier, known for his professionalism, principles, conviction and decisiveness.
During his four decades in service, General Rawat had gained vast operational experience in the full spectrum of warfare. As a brigadier, he led successful counter-terrorism operations in Sopore and successfully commanded a multinational brigade under United Nations in Democratic Republic of Congo. As a Major General, he had commanded an Infantry Division along the Line of Control in North Kashmir. As the Corps commander, he oversaw the conduct of hot pursuits of terror groups executed by Indian Army’s Special Forces into Myanmar. This was the beginning of the transformation of India’s strategic culture from restraint to assertion. Later on, as Vice Chief of the Army Staff, he was instrumental in overseeing the surgical strikes against Pakistan-based terrorist groups in PoK.
As Chief of the Army Staff, General Rawat’s achievements were remarkable in all spheres of military and national security affairs. He followed the Indian Army’s motto of ‘Service before Self’ as a guiding principle throughout his Army career. As the first CDS, he rallied for organisational and structural reforms to integrate the Armed Forces. Path breaking transformational initiatives and civil-military synergy will remain his legacy.
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh held a bilateral meeting with US Secretary of Defence Mr Lloyd Austin in Siem Reap, Cambodia today. Shri Rajnath Singh and Mr Lloyd Austin are in Cambodia to attend the 9th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) Plus meeting. Both leaders met each other with great warmth and expressed satisfaction at the growing bilateral defence engagements. The Raksha Mantri was accompanied by Defence Secretary Shri Giridhar Aramane and other senior officials of Ministry of Defence.
The two Defence Ministers discussed wide range of issues of mutual interest while expressing their commitment to a strong India-US defence cooperation. Shri Rajnath Singh emphasised the need for both countries to work together for capability building in critical domains such as military aviation, artificial intelligence and cyber technology.
The Raksha Mantri looked forward to building a roadmap towards greater defence industrial collaboration between India and US. He highlighted India’s growing expertise in aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) and ship-building, repairs and refits and suggested specific areas where US defence companies can look for technology cooperation and manufacturing opportunities with Indian partners in India. Secretary Austin welcomed the suggestions and assured Raksha Mantri of cooperation in this regard.
The two leaders expressed their commitment towards an inclusive and rules-based Indo Pacific with freedom of navigation, overflight and unimpeded trade. They further discussed initiatives that can be taken to strengthen maritime cooperation between the two countries including in maritime domain awareness. Both leaders also shared their perspectives on the regional security situation.
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has said, the flight of an Aatmanirbhar Defence depends on the two wings of industry, manufacturers and supply on one hand and armed forces, users and demand on the other. He was speaking at a seminar organised by FICCI in coordination with Headquarters of Integrated Defence Staff on ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat & Make in India: Roadmap for the Armed Forces’ as part of 12th DefExpo in Gandhinagar, Gujarat on October 20, 2022.
Shri Rajnath Singh emphasised the need to balance these two wings of the Indian Defence sector to attain new heights. Addressing the gathering, Shri Rajnath Singh highlighted the need for indigenization of defence equipment and technology and uniqueness in planning to maintain a surprise element in our response to adversaries. He acknowledged that our preparedness in responding to challenges of the rapidly changing geo-political scenario, particularly neighbourhood threats, has grown in recent years and efforts are on to continue this progress.
The Raksha Mantri said acquisition of military equipment was delayed and their uniqueness was compromised, as also it was comparatively below the standards of others. In such a situation, it’s imperative for India to indigenise. Raksha Mantri listed various steps taken to strengthen our defence industry through making capital and technology available, development of R&D ecosystem and a large market. He mentioned reservation of 68% of the capital acquisition budget for domestic industry for 2022-23, 25% of domestic capital procurement from private industry, MSMEs and start-ups, reservation of 25% of the Defence R&D budget to promote industry, start-ups and academia, Defence Innovation Start-Up Challenges and Technology Development Fund as steps that have been taken to encourage private industry and MSMEs.
Shri Rajnath Singh emphasised the importance of quality in defence products and technology, saying that any compromise in this respect hurts our national interest and pride. He exhorted all stakeholders to develop the best defence technologies in the world to forge an identity for our defence industry on the national and international stage. Raksha Mantri appealed to the armed forces for their continued support to the domestic industry and appreciated their full cooperation to Aatmanirbharta in defence sector. He mentioned that more than 400 items are now on the indigenization list with the fourth list being issued on 19th October, 2022 at Defence Expo 2022. He pointed out that there is a need for a balance between indigenous and imported items to fulfil our requirements and in general we should focus on our indigenous production capability.
Earlier, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan addressed the seminar and expressed his firm belief that no country can aspire to grow stronger without achieving self-reliance in defence research and development and manufacturing. Chief of Defence Staff pointed out that recent developments have highlighted the fragile nature of regional and global nature, reinforcing the belief in Aatmanirbharta in Defence. He said that the emerging geo-political scenario has made the three services realise the importance of Aatmanirbharta, reflected in the positive indigenization lists. General Chauhan informed the attendees that contracts worth Rs. 62,000 crores have already been signed and orders worth about Rs. 7 lakh crores are under various stages of procurement with the Indian Defence industry. He recalled successes in this sphere such as commissioning of INS Vikrant, induction of the HAL developed Light Combat Helicopter Prachand into the Indian Air Force and growing reach of indigenously designed weapons systems. General Chauhan also noted that India’s Aatmanirbharta model is not averse to collaboration between Indian Defence establishment, private enterprises and Foreign OEMs.
The three service chiefs, domestic industry representatives and officials from the government of India attended the seminar.
Shri Narendra Modi is not just a Prime Minister or a leader, but a social reformer and a symbol of the country’s cultural renaissance. This was stated by Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh at the launch of the Gujarati edition of the book titled ‘Modi @ 20: Dreams Meet Delivery’ in Gandhinagar, Gujarat on October 17, 2022. The Raksha Mantri described PM Modi as a unique leader who has brought a change in the nature, style and definition of leadership in the country. The Prime Minister is not only working for the present, but for the future for the country, he added. Elaborating on the widespread public support to the Prime Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh stated that Shri Narendra Modi is at the pinnacle of power because people believe in him and he has connected them with the cultural and economic rejuvenation.
“Shri Narendra Modi is the first leader after Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi to recognise the pulse of the people and communicate with them directly. He knows the needs and aspirations of India. He is bringing about a transformative change in the country. PM Modi is a symbol of India’s social reform, represented by the several programmes that have been launched in the past few years,” the Raksha Mantri said.
Shri Rajnath Singh applauded the skills and experience of Shri Narendra Modi, saying that he is the first Prime Minister who was the Chief Minister of a state for 12 years before assuming charge as the PM. Speaking about the book, Shri Rajnath Singh said that it chronicles the 20 years of public service of the Prime Minister.
The Raksha Mantri asserted that India has today positioned itself on the Global High-Table due to PM Modi’s vision. “The whole world is witnessing India tranform as a self-reliant country. A nation that does not accept anyone’s interference in its internal matters, but does not shy away from ensuring its participation in those issues which are related to the collective well-being. India is now playing the role of agenda-setters in the international system,” he said.
Shri Rajnath Singh added that the abrogation of Article 370 from J&K was an example of PM Modi’s decision-making ability. J&K has heralded into the era of peace and prosperity due to the decision, he said. The Raksha Mantri added that PM Modi has redesigned and redefined India’s attitude against terrorism, stressing that the government has clearly said that terrorism and talks cannot go hand-in-hand. “We have made it clear that India will root out terrorism in all its forms, even if it means crossing the border if necessary,’’ he said.
The Raksha Mantri also listed out other reforms taken by PM Modi-led Government, including the roll out of GST scheme, terming it as a progresssive tax reform. He added that India’s growing economic prowess was recognised by DG, IMF Ms Kristalina Georgieva who acknowledged the Indian economy as a bright spark in the world.
The book, ‘Modi@20: Dreams Meet Delivery’ is a compilation of articles by domain experts bringing out various aspects of the thinking and performance of Shri Narendra Modi in various domains as Chief Minister of Gujarat and the Prime Minister for 20 years. Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Bhupendrabhai Patel and Union Minister of State, Information and Broadcasting and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Dr L Murugan were among those present on the occasion.
In continuous pursuit of self-reliance in defence manufacturing and to minimise imports by Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) under ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’, Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has approved the third Positive Indigenisation List (PIL) of 780 strategically important Line Replacement Units (LRUs)/Sub-systems/Components with a timeline beyond which they will only be procured from the domestic industry. Details of these items are available on SRIJAN Portal (www.srijandefence.gov.in). They will only be procured from Indian Industry after the timelines indicated in the list.
This list is in continuation to the two PILs of LRUs/Sub-systems/Assemblies/Sub-assemblies/Components that were published in December 2021 and March 2022. These lists contain 2,500items which are already indigenised and 458 (351+107) items which will be indigenised within the given timelines. Out of 458, 167 items (1st PIL -163, 2nd PIL – 4) have been indigenised, so far.
Indigenisation of these items will be taken up through different routes under ‘Make’ category. ‘Make’ Category aims to achieve self-reliance by involving greater participation of the Indian industry. Projects involving design and development of equipment, systems, major platforms or upgrades thereof by the industry can be taken up under this category.
The indigenous development of these LRUs/Sub-systems/components will bolster the economy and reduce the import dependence of DPSUs. In addition, it will help to harness the design capabilities of domestic defence industry and position India as a design leader in these technologies.
The DPSUs will soon float Expression of Interest (EoIs)/Request for Proposal (RFPs) and industry may come forward to participate in large number. The industry may look for EoIs/RFPs on the Srijan dashboard (https://srijandefence.gov.in/DashboardForPublic) specifically designed for the purpose.
