In Pictures - PM Narendra Modi soars high on Tejas, India’s pride in the sky

In Pictures | PM Narendra Modi soars high on Tejas, India’s pride in the sky1/7

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday undertook a sortie on the Tejas aircraft, and said the experience has bolstered his confidence in the country’s indigenous capabilities. The Prime Minister has been pushing for indigenous production of defence products and highlighting how his government has boosted their manufacturing in India and also their exports. (PTI photo)2/7

Several countries have evinced interest in buying Tejas, a light combat aircraft, and US defence giant GE Aerospace had inked a pact with HAL to jointly produce engines for the Mk-II-Tejas during the Prime Minister’s recent state visit to the US. (PTI photo)

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Under the Narendra Modi government, an order of Rs 36,468 crore for the delivery of 83 LCA Mk 1A Tejas aircraft has been placed with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, official sources said on Saturday, as the prime minister visited the defence PSU and took a sortie in the fighter jet. (PTI photo)

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The delivery of these Tejas aircraft is scheduled to begin by February 2024, they said, asserting that the government has taken giant steps for increasing India’s defence preparedness and indigenisation, which includes Tejas fighter aircraft. (PTI photo)

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The first version of the aircraft was inducted into the Indian Air Force in 2016. Currently, two IAF squadrons are fully operational with LCA Tejas. More than Rs 9,000 crore has been sanctioned for the development of LCA Mk 2, an updated and more lethal version of LCA Tejas. (PTI photo)

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To further promote indigenisation, including of the aircraft engine, the transfer of technology for manufacturing of the GE engine in India was negotiated with the US firm during Modi’s visit to the the country in June 2023. (PTI photo)

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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh noted in April this year that India’s defence exports have reached an all-time high of Rs 15,920 crore in 2022-2023. It is a remarkable achievement for the country, he had said. (PTI photo)