Ex-Servicemen Welfare In 100-Day Agenda Of Defence Ministry, Here's What Rajnath Singh Said After Assuming Charge

Rajnath Singh assumed charge as the Defence Minister for the second consecutive term in the Narendra Modi government and soon chaired a review meeting on the first 100 days’ Action Plan on Thursday (13 June).

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan, Army Chief General Manoj Pande, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh Tripathi and other officials were present at the meeting.

The Defence Minister said that the the priority areas will be carried forward with renewed thrust under the leadership of the Prime Minister with the aim to further strengthen the security apparatus of the country.

"Our focus is on achieving self-reliance in defence manufacturing. Armed Forces modernisation and the welfare of the soldiers, both serving and retired, will continue to be our main focus," Singh explained.

On defence exports, he said, "A record of Rs 21,083 crore was touched in Financial Year 2023-24. It was historic. Our target will be to export over Rs 50,000 crore worth of defence equipment by 2028-2029."

Commending the military personnel for protecting the unity, integrity and sovereignty of our country, Singh said that the Armed Forces are being equipped with state-of-the-art weapons/platforms.

In the 100-day agenda, the focus is on the welfare of veterans. For this, major issues pertaining to the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare were discussed.

Regular review meetings to fast-track the progress of the flagship schemes will be held by Singh to enhance defence preparedness and continued thrust on Aatmanirbharta in Defence.

Singh's first visit in this tenure will be to the Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam, where he will interact with the officers and sailors amid growing salience of the Indian Ocean Region in the defence calculus.