Indian Navy expected to spend 70 pc of capital budget in domestic procurement this fiscal: Rajnath Singh

New Delhi [India], July 18 (ANI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said that the Indian Navy spent over 64 per cent of its capital budget in domestic procurement in the last financial year and it is expected to increase to 70 per cent in the current financial year.
Addressing the Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) seminar 'Swavlamban' here, Singh laid thrust on innovation, indigenisation and partnerships between the Armed Forces, Industry, research establishments and academia.
He commended the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat', likening it with the Swadeshi movement of Father of Mahatma Gandhi.
Asserting that 'New India' is making giant strides to achieve self-reliance with a new resolve, he exuded confidence that "we will soon end the dependency on imports and touch newer heights".
He pointed out that at a time when the Nation is celebrating 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav', a new dimension of 'self-reliance' has been added to the definition of freedom.
"We have not only achieved self-sufficiency in foodgrains, but are one of its major exporter countries. Vaccines manufactured in India are saving lives of people all over the world. Our space craft is taking satellites of other countries into space. Today, India is not only self-reliant in many sectors, it is also fulfilling the needs of other countries," he said.
He stressed that self-reliance not only means overcoming economic constraints, but also to achieve decisional autonomy for the country by overcoming diplomatic constraints. "The self-reliance efforts in the defence sector, under the guidance of the Prime Minister, have transformed India's image and we will soon become a global manufacturing hub," he said.
Rajnath Singh appreciated the Indian Navy for playing a pioneer role in this endeavour by making remarkable progress in surface, sub-surface and air domains, setting up an 'in-house-ship-design-organisation' and transforming itself from a 'Buyer's Navy' to a 'Builder's Navy'.
He described the ever-increasing indigenous content in warships as a testament to Indian Navy's unwavering commitment towards 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat', saying that it is a matter of great pride for the nation that the shipyards and the industries are together developing the capacity and capability of the Armed Forces.
He said that in line with the 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' campaign, "the Indian Navy spent over 64 per cent of its capital budget in domestic procurement in the last financial year and it is expected to increase to 70 per cent in the current financial year".
He said the role of the Indian Navy is going to increase further in the Indian Ocean Region and the Indo-Pacific in the times to come and expressed confidence that it is ready to deal with every situation and will prove its mettle in all circumstances, whenever needed. (ANI)