| Lucknow |
Published: February 5, 2020 2:47:15 am
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh with Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow. (Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said the Union government is working to develop India as a “defence manufacturing hub”, adding that the country cannot be dependent on imported arms for a long time, and thus the target is to create a world-class domestic industry.
Speaking on the eve of the DefExpo 2020 in Lucknow, Singh said the government aims to become the third-largest economy in the world by the end of the decade.
Stating that the DefExpo 2020 is the biggest such exposition in the country, Singh said about 70 countries and over 1,000 exhibitors – including 856 Indian companies will participate. He said that the defense ministers of more than 35 countries have already arrived for the event, and there would be a special dialogue to explore and share defense capabilities.
“The prosperity and strength of this country is in the backdrop of this event as the stature of the country has increased across the world, and entire world takes India seriously,” Singh said. “We are developing India as a defence manufacturing hub.”
Singh said that it is…
