Bhopal: Defence minister Rajnath Singh hit out at US president Donald Trump (without naming him) for attempting to stymie India’s phenomenal economic growth. He noted that some people are unhappy with the fast pace of India’s development and are trying to make Indian-made products expensive to slow down growth.
He, however, expressed confidence that India will continue along its growth path despite all challenges. Singh also noted that India’s defence exports have crossed Rs 24,000 crore, showcasing the strength of the country’s defence sector.
“There are some people who are not happy with the speed at which India is developing. They are not liking it. ‘Sabke boss toh hum hain’, how is India growing at such a fast pace? And many are trying that the things made in India, by the hands of Indians, become more expensive than the things made in those countries,” Rajnath said.
“They believe that when the prices of Indian products rise, the world will stop buying them. This effort is underway. But India is advancing so rapidly that I say with full confidence: no power in the world can now stop India from becoming a major global power,” the minister added.
These comments come in the backdrop of Trump’s imposition of 50% tariff on Indian products. While Trump claims this is punishment for India’s purchase of Russian crude, the reality is that he wants to bully India into offering concessions to US products, particularly in the agriculture and dairy sectors. The US also wants India to go in for more defence purchases, and has even offered the fifth-generation F-35 fighter jet.
Singh noted that defence exports have not been affected by the current situation and are continuously increasing.
“As far as the defence sector is concerned, you will be happy to know that now we are exporting defence items worth more than Rs 24,0000 crore. This is the strength of India, this is the new defence sector of the new India and the exports are increasing continuously,” he said.
Singh, on Sunday, laid the foundation stone of the BRAHMA Project (BEML Rail Hub for Manufacturing) to make rail coaches in Madhya Pradesh’s Raisen district. The unit will be built by BEML – a Defence PSU – at a cost of Rs 1,800 crore on more than 60 hectares of land at Umaria village in Raisen, near the border of Bhopal district.
The project will benefit the districts of Raisen, Sehore, Vidisha and capital Bhopal, an official said. Employment opportunities will be created for students studying in technical institutes of these districts. More than 5,000 persons will get direct and indirect employment in the project, the official added.
