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Indian Air Force: This production will increase the overall strength and capability of the Indian Air Force. Rajnath Singh witnessed the first flight of these fighter planes.
Indian Air Force: Union Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday inaugurated the Tejas LCA MK-1A fighter aircraft from Hindustan Aeronautics’ new production center in Nashik. The Defense Minister also inaugurated the ‘third production line of LCA MK1A’ and the ‘second production line of HTT-40 aircraft’. Tejas MK-1A took off for the first time from Nashik on Friday. This production will increase the overall strength and capability of the Indian Air Force. Rajnath Singh witnessed the first flight of these fighter planes. On this occasion, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said that India is working towards taking domestic defense production to 100 percent, because dependence on foreign military supplies creates ‘strategic weakness’. The highlight of the event was the successful maiden flight of Tejas MK1A manufactured at the Nashik plant, flown by Group Captain Venugopal (Retd), Chief Test Pilot for Fixed-Wing Aircraft at HAL. Rajnath Singh said that there was a time when the country was dependent on other countries for its defense needs and about 65-70 percent of defense equipment was imported.
Defense production Rs 1.50 lakh crore
He said that but today the situation has changed, now India is doing 65 percent construction on its own soil. Very soon we will take our domestic manufacturing to 100 percent. Highlighting the major achievements made as part of the government’s efforts to promote self-reliance in the defense sector, Singh said India’s annual defense production has increased from Rs 46,429 crore in 2014-15 to more than Rs 1.50 lakh crore in 2024-25. He said that defense exports were less than Rs 1,000 crore a decade ago, but now it has increased to Rs 25,000 crore. Singh said that we have now set a target of Rs 3 lakh crore in domestic defense manufacturing and Rs 50,000 crore in defense exports by 2029. The Defense Minister said that without achieving self-reliance in the defense sector, India can never remain safe.
Sukhoi-30 aircraft being built in Nashik
He said that when we came to power in 2014, we realized that without self-reliance we can never be completely secure. In the beginning we faced many challenges, the biggest of which were limited defense preparedness and dependence on imports. Singh said that everything was limited to government enterprises and the private sector had no significant participation in the mechanism supporting production. He said that adequate attention was not given to defense planning, advanced technology and innovation which forced the country to depend on other countries for critical equipment and state-of-the-art systems, which increased costs and created strategic vulnerabilities. HAL Chairman and Managing Director Dr. DK Sunil called it a proud moment for Indian Aerospace. He said that it is a matter of great happiness for us that Sukhoi-30 aircraft are being manufactured here and now this indigenous Tejas also. This shows our commitment towards self-reliant India.
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