Under PM’s leadership, challenges turning into opportunities: Rajnath

Pune, Oct 16: Stating that Operation Sindoor demonstrated India’s growing indigenous defence capability, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said that under PM Modi’s leadership India has turned earlier challenges into measurable outcomes.
Speaking at the convocation ceremony of Symbiosis Skills and Professional University in Pune, the Defence Minister said, “The government is committed to building a self-reliant defence manufacturing ecosystem and make India one of the most powerful countries in the world.”
While tracing India’s journey towards self-reliance in defence, he said that the country had been heavily dependent on other nations for weapons since independence. “Under PM Modi’s leadership, we pledged to transform the defence sector because, since independence, we lacked the political will and enabling laws to manufacture in India. That required a change,” he said.
The Defence Minister said the bravery of Indian soldiers during ‘Operation Sindoor’ was supported by a significant amount of equipment produced in India. He added that the operation showed both the courage of soldiers and the nation’s technological capabilities.
Singh credited the private sector for contributing to defence production. He noted that annual production had increased from Rs 46,000 crore to Rs 1.5 lakh crore over the last decade, with the private sector accounting for around Rs 33,000 crore. He said the government aims to achieve Rs 3 lakh crore in defence manufacturing and Rs 50,000 crore in defence exports by 2029.
Singh told the students that success is not only about acquiring degrees but also about applying knowledge for society. “We are no longer in the era of ‘What do you know?’ The world now asks, ‘What can you do?’ Skill is the bridge between learning and doing,” he said.
On technology and artificial intelligence, Singh told students that AI will not replace humans, but those who use AI effectively will replace those who do not. He said technology should remain a tool and should not replace human values, ethics, and sensitivity.
Singh said India is entering a phase aimed at becoming a developed nation by 2047.
He told students that the next 20–25 years will shape both their careers and the country’s trajectory. “Let your ambition fuel the country’s transformation,” he said.
During the event, the School of Defence and Aerospace Technology at Symbiosis Skills and Professional University was inaugurated by Singh and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, in the presence of state ministers and the university’s Vice-Chancellor. (KNO)