"We have a difficult geopolitical neighbourhood...": Rajnath Singh

KANPUR: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said that India is surrounded with difficult neighbours and it is imperative for our country to keep its defence sector in a strong position.

Rajnath Singh made the remarks while attending the inauguration of 'The Ammunition Manufacturing Complex of Adani Defence System Technologies Limited virtually.

"India's neighbourhood is a difficult geopolitical neighbourhood. Due to these geopolitical realities, it's a must for India to keep its defence sector in a strong position. Being a civilizational country and such a big economy in the world, if India wants to leave its imprint on the global stage then India must maintain its strategic autonomy," he said.

Defence Minister further stated that the BJP-led Centre in the last 10 years have taken various steps to strengthen the defence sector.

"Since 2014 when our (BJP) government came into power we have been trying to provide better facilities, better training and better logistics to defence personnel. We have taken many steps to strengthen our defence sector like indigenisation, revising the industry license process, increasing the FDI cap, and allowing private sectors to utilize the government's tried and tested facilities," Rajnath Singh said.

 On the occasion, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath along with Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pande visited the firing range at Adani Ammunition and Missile Complex.

The ammunition complex started operations in less than two years of its announcement by the Adani Group during the Uttar Pradesh Investors' Summit in 2022.

An industry 4.0 facility, it has state of the art automation ensuring highest standards in quality, safety and reliability using artificial intelligence and data analytics. Further, being a PESO certified complex, it will also house explosive handling facilities for missiles and precision-guided munitions, a statement issued by Adani group said.