Defence Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday batted for making India a defence manufacturing hub, saying it is essential to deal with various security challenges like insurgency effectively.
No country can secure itself by depending on others for its defence supplies, the minister said amid steps by the government to bring in private players in the sector.
At the 9th convocation of the Defence Institute of Advance Technology (DIAT) he mentioned that India cannot change their neighbours. And the neighbourhood has thrown up security challenges. He further informed that India is facing insurgency and war for the last 70 years. Therefore, India needs to become an important defence manufacturing hub.
The country has institutions like IITs, DRDO labs and a large number of private institutes which can help it achieve the goal, the minister said.
In a veiled attack on the previous UPA government, he said the conservative policies of the past have hindered progress in the field of defence manufacturing.
The government has broken away from the restrictive past to achieve the goal of self-reliance in defence, he said.
By Baishakhi Dutta
