Stop arms imports, focus on 'Make in India': Bipin Rawat

New delhi date. 10 May 2020, Sunday

Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat has advised the army to reduce imports. He said to focus on 'Make in India' instead of buying foreign weapons and other security equipment.

He further added that the military needs to decide on its own merits, not on the basis of America or other countries. In this way, General Rawat hinted that India could build its own defense industry by properly managing the money spent on arms purchases.

According to General Rawat, we have to fight there only by protecting our borders, not to be deployed all over the world like the armies of other countries. At the same time, we have to maintain dominance in the Indian maritime sector, so instead of creating a false image of our need, we should reduce imports.

The purchase and maintenance of weapons is very expensive

The chief of the three armies, General Bipin Rawat, said the Corona virus epidemic had affected everyone. We have to be realistic and adjust. We need to prioritize the operation by understanding our needs. Weapons imports, equipment, maintenance, etc. have become very expensive. He thus signaled to the army to reduce its dependence on foreign weapons.

General Rawat's statement comes at a time when the defense budget is likely to be slashed as the country's economic situation has deteriorated due to Corona. India is the world's second largest arms importer while Saudi Arabia tops the arms market with 9.2 per cent purchases.

Despite 'Make in India', a deal worth Rs 1 lakh crore was struck

India has made some big defense deals in the last few years. On the one hand, India is talking about 'Make in India', along with 36 French Rafale Fight jets worth Rs 59,000 crore and five Russian missiles worth Rs 40,000 crore. Named S-400, this Russian missile squadron is capable of striking from the ground to the sky.

According to General Rawat, India has no choice but to become a strong and domestic defense industrial base. Initially indigenous weapons with less technical specifications could be made. The latter should approach foreign companies for Make in India for weapons that cannot be manufactured by Indian companies.

He also questioned whether the Navy needed a third aircraft carrier, saying that anything on the surface could be captured by satellite and quickly destroyed by a missile, so the Navy needed more submarines than an aircraft carrier.