Will take all steps to protect people, territory: PM Modi

Chennai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India is ready to take all steps to equip the armed forces to protect its people and territory. He said his government has streamlined defence manufacturing and procurement processes.

"India has sent one of the largest numbers of UN peacekeepers all over the word. Our commitment to peace is just as strong as our commitment to protecting our people and our territory," Modi said after formally inaugurating the Defence Expo 2018 here.

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"For this, we are ready to take all necessary measures to equip our armed forces, including through the establishment of a strategically independent defence industrial complex."

The country's history of thousands of years shows India never desired anyone else's territory, Modi added.

On the defence front, he said his government has taken steps to strengthen and improve manufacturing licenses, exports clearances, Foreign Direct Investment and reforming procurement.

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"In all these areas, our regulations, processes and procedures have been made more industry-friendly, more transparent, more predictable, more outcome-oriented," he added.

Modi said the Defence Procurement Procedure has been revised with many specific provisions for stimulating growth of the domestic defence industry.

"We have also de-notified some items earlier made exclusively by Ordnance Factories, so that the private sector, especially, the MSMEs can enter this space," he said.

WITH IANS INPUTS...