Author: India Writes Network

Aero India: Modi pitches for Make in India in defence, seeks investments

- by India Writes Network

Pitching for the transformation of India’s defence industry, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has enlisted the support of foreign investors for the success of ‘Make in India’ campaign for modernising the country’s military and industrial complex.
Inaugurating the 10th edition of the South Asia’s biggest air show ‘Aero India 2015’ at the Air Force Station Yelahanka near Bengaluri on February 18, the prime minister said it was important to modernise India’s defence forces and increase preparedness and voiced confidence that the country can emerge as a global centre for defence industry.
India is one of the largest importers of defence equipment. Mr Modi stressed that this is one area where he would not like India to be number one and made a robust pitch for cutting down on defence imports to make the country empowered and self-sufficient in cutting-edge defence technologies.

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Religious violence in India is simply on: PM Modi

- by India Writes Network

Breaking his months-long silence on a slew of attacks on churches and the shimmering controversy over attempts at religious conversions by Hindu fundamentalists, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has underlined that his government will not allow any religious group belonging to the majority or minority to spread hatred against any group.
“My government will ensure that there is complete freedom of faith and that everyone has the undeniable right to retain or adopt the religion of his or her choice without coercion or undue influence. My government will not allow any religious group, belonging to the majority or the minority, to incite hatred against others, overtly or covertly,” he said at a function in India’s capital Delhi on February 17 to celebrate the elevation of two members of the church to sainthood.

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India, Israel to focus on defence deals, counter-terrorism

- by India Writes Network

Shedding the veil of secrecy that has tended to envelop India-Israel relations, the Modi government is rolling out the red carpet for Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon, a landmark trip that is set to impart a renewed momentum to the burgeoning defence relations between the two countries.
The importance of the trip is clear from the fact that it is the first trip by an Israeli defence minister to India since the two countries established full diplomatic ties in 1992.
Mr Ya’alon will hold meetings with his Indian counterpart Manohar Parrikar in New Delhi and also participate in Aero India 2015 in Bengaluru to inaugurate the Israeli Pavilion at Aero India.
The India-Israel relations have acquired a new momentum under the new government in New Delhi, which looks at Tel Aviv as an important partner in a host of areas, including defence, counter-terrorism, and water conservation. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met in New York in September 2014 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. With a host of terror groups active in the region, India is looking to step up counter-terror cooperation with Israel.

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