PM Modi in Tejas Aircraft: On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a ride on a Tejas aircraft during his visit to the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited site in Bengaluru.
The Prime Minister utilized social media platform X to convey his experience of undertaking a sortie in the Tejas fighter aircraft.
“Successfully completed a sortie on the Tejas. The experience was incredibly enriching, significantly bolstering my confidence in our country’s indigenous capabilities, and leaving me with a renewed sense of pride and optimism about our national potential”, Modi said in a post on X.
“Flying in Tejas today, I can say with immense pride that due to our hard work and dedication, we are no less than anyone in the world in the field of self-reliance. Heartiest congratulations to the Indian Air Force, DRDO and HAL as well as all Indians,” he added. Modi arrived in the city earlier today and visited Defence PSU
The Prime Minister has been advocating for the indigenous production of defense products, emphasizing his government’s role in enhancing their manufacturing within India and promoting their exports.
Numerous countries have shown interest in purchasing Tejas, a light combat aircraft. During the Prime Minister’s recent state visit to the US, US defense giant GE Aerospace signed an agreement with HAL to collaboratively manufacture engines for the Mk-II Tejas.
In April of this year, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh highlighted that India’s defense exports had achieved a record high of ₹15,920 crore in the fiscal year 2022-2023. He emphasized that this accomplishment was a notable achievement for the country.
According to the news agency PTI, under the administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an order worth ₹36,468 crore has been issued to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for the supply of 83 LCA Mk 1A Tejas aircraft.
They mentioned that the delivery of these Tejas aircraft is set to commence by February 2024. They emphasized that the government has undertaken significant measures to enhance India’s defense readiness and promote indigenization, encompassing the Tejas fighter aircraft.
The report indicated that an allocation exceeding ₹9,000 crore has been approved for the advancement of LCA Mk 2, which is an enhanced and more formidable iteration of the LCA Tejas.
To further bolster indigenization efforts, which include the production of aircraft engines, the transfer of technology for manufacturing the GE engine in India was negotiated with the US firm during Modi’s visit to the country in June 2023.
