'India as superpower will work for global welfare'

NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said India aspires to be superpower and work for the welfare of the entire world and emphasised that "we will never have the intention to capture even one inch of land of any other country".

Addressing the FICCI Annual Convention and AGM in the national capital, the union minister said, "We want to be a superpower to work for the welfare of the world."

"Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) during his address from Red Fort talked about five pledges to the country, which are essential to make India super power and it shouldn't be considered that we want to dominate any country or we have the intention to capture even one inch of land of any other country," Singh said.

Speaking on the recent India-China border clash, the Defence Minister said, "Whether it is Galwan or Tawang, our defence forces have proved their bravery and valour."

"In 1949, China's GDP was lower than that of India. Until 1980, India was not even in the list of top 10 economies... In 2014, India was on the 9th position in world economies. Today India is close to a $3.5 trillion economy and 5th largest in the world," Rajnath Singh said as he spoke on 'India@100: AmritKaal- Sustainable & Inclusive'.