101 Ban on import of defense equipment, big announcement by Rajnath Singh

New delhi date. Sunday, August 9, 2020

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has made a very important announcement today. He said the defense ministry is now ready to move towards the initiative of becoming self-reliant. MOD will introduce imported embargo on more than 101 items to promote the indigenization of defense products. "Production in the defense sector will be promoted and it is a big step towards India's self-reliance in the defense sector," said Rajnath Singh.

The announcement by the defense minister is being hailed as significant amid tensions with China over the actual Line of Control (LAC) in Ladakh. Earlier, the ministry tweeted that Defense Minister Rajnath Singh would make an important announcement at 10 am today. Then there was speculation that the defense minister would make an announcement regarding a negative list of imports from China. These restrictions are expected to be extended every year to increase domestic production capacity through the production of weapons.

The stalemate is likely to continue

The defense ministry said the stalemate with China was likely to continue for a long time. Despite talks between India and China over the Pangong Lake, tensions remain high over the disengagement as no solution has been found yet.

The Indian Ministry of Defense has taken a very unprecedented step, saying the disengagement process has stalled. The Ministry of Defense first acknowledged the Chinese intrusion as an encroachment and posted official information on its website. However the report was removed from the website after political controversy escalated.

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh visited Ladakh a few days ago and met soldiers wounded in a violent clash with China at the time. Many of those soldiers have now fully recovered and returned to their duty.