NEW DELHI: The armed forces have to get rid of their overwhelming dependence on exorbitant foreign weapon systems, and instead put their entire weight behind ensuring that ‘
Make in India
’ does not remain a mere slogan,
chief of defence staff
General
Bipin Rawat
told TOI in an exclusive interview on Saturday.
“We are not expeditionary forces that have to deploy around the globe. We have to guard and fight only along our borders and, of course, dominate the Indian Ocean Region. So, we should not go in for large amounts of
imports
by misrepresenting our operational requirements,” said Rawat.
“Covid-19 has affected everybody. We need to be realistic, start adjusting and have a major relook at our operational priorities and what we actually need. Arms imports, along with supply of spares and maintenance, have become increasingly cost prohibitive,” said the country’s first tri-service chief.
His forthright remarks mean that the over 15-lakh strong armed forces have to undergo a major reorientation to wean themselves off foreign-ma