Indian government will spend $250 billion on defense purchases in the next 10 years, the Indian Defense Ministry's Secretary of the Department of Defense Production Ashok Kumar Gupta said on Thursday.
GANDHINAGAR (Sputnik) – Speaking at the 8th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in Gandhinagar, India, Gupta reminded that the country is in the middle of modernization of its armed forces.
GANDHINAGAR (Sputnik) – Speaking at the 8th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in Gandhinagar, India, Gupta reminded that the country is in the middle of modernization of its armed forces.
He underlined that the authorities aimed to sign more deals with local manufacturers, as the government had worked out a strategy to achieve self-sufficiency in designing, development and production of defense equipment, armed systems and platforms by stimulating private sector. The official added that if meeting the inner demand needed foreign producers, they would have to cooperate with Indian industry and adjust themselves to the local market.
The Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit is held since 2003 every two years in the Indian state of Gujarat. Through the years, the investors' summit developed from the regional investment fair to a platform for exchanging ideas, networking, establishing partnerships and discussing global challenges.
India currently is the largest importer of Russian weapons. According to the Center for Analyses of World Arms Trade, Russian- and Soviet-made arms account for about 70 percent of the Indian defense forces' total arsenal.
This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.