Guwahati: Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the cornerstone for a new airbase that will be built in north Gujarat close to the Pakistani border on Wednesday.
He predicted that the airbase will become a key hub for the nation’s defence.
PM Modi stated that the defence forces will publish a list of 101 more things that cannot be imported while speaking at the Defence Expo 2022 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
With this 411 defence-related goods can only be procured locally, he said.
“This will give a major boost to the Indian defence industry,” he added.
The PM added that this DefExpo is exceptional because it is being attended for the first time entirely by Indian businesses.
The airbase would be built near Deesa in the North Gujarati town of Banaskantha.
He added that Indian defence exports had surged eightfold over the past several years.
He continued, “Earlier we used to release pigeons and today we release cheetahs, so the country has come a long way.”