Chennai, Nov 28 (FN Agency) Observing that India has emerged as a major defence manufacturinghub, President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday said the country was rising and the world wasacknowledging the nation’s growth in various sectors, including defence. Addressing the faculty and student officers of the Armed Forces who are undergoing trainingat the prestigious tri-services institute, Defence Services Staff College at Wellington in TheNilgiris District, she said India is moving towards indigenization and self-reliance in defenceto keep the Armed Forces ready to meet future challenges. “India is being developed as a major defence manufacturing hub, and is moving towardsbecoming a reliable defence partner and a big defence exporter”, she said.
India’s defence industry is rapidly adopting the latest technologies and is moving ahead inline with the vision of Atma Nirbhar Bharat, she noted. Pointing out that Indian defence companies such as the HAL and organisations like the DRDOare setting new benchmarks, Ms Droupadi Murmu said India now exports defence equipmentto more than 100 countries. India’s defence exports grew by 30 times over the past decade, she said and added that theMake in India programme has played a major role in this development.