Budget 2024: Self-reliant India or safe India?
Budget 2024: Self-reliant india or safe India? The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is placing a strong emphasis on national self-reliance. The government is placing a strong emphasis on meeting its demands domestically, particularly in defense-related topics. The Modi government's budgets thus far have prioritized the defense industry as well. With just a few days remaining until the first budget of the Modi government's third term is presented, a top military official has seriously questioned the efforts towards self-reliance.Vice Chief of Staff, air ForceAt a program on Friday, Vice Chief air Marshal ap Singh of the indian air Force (IAF) brought up the subject of self-reliance and stated that it is wrong to do so at the expense of national security. At the air Force Auditorium in New delhi on Friday, he was giving a speech at the air and Missile Defense india 2024 Seminar. At the time, he declared that national security came first and that it was improper to be self-sufficient at whatever cost.There is a fighter plane shortfall in the air Force.The senior air Force official made this remark about the hold-up in domestic initiatives. He stated that there is a fighter plane shortfall in the indian air Force. The scheduled delivery of the domestic tejas fighter plane is behind schedule. According to him, the requirements of the armed forces are evolving over time. From DRDO to all government defense companies and commercial companies, we will need to collaborate if we wish to put the indian air Force or other military forces on the path of self-reliance and make sure we are not compelled to follow an alternative course.Large orders have been placed with government enterprises.The indian air Force has issued significant directives to government defense companies in support of the effort for self-reliance in India. The tejas Mark-1A fighter jet alone has received an order worth hundreds of crores from the air Force. A contract for Rs 48 thousand crores would see the purchase of 83 tejas Mark-1A aircraft by the indian air Force. Although the order was placed in february 2021, not a single tejas jet has yet to be delivered by Hindustan Aeronautics, the government-owned corporation that produces the aircraft.