New Delhi, April 2 : Amid growing concerns over the pending Russian weapon imports, delivery of spares and maintenance of the existing ones, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said “external conditions have affected the serviceability of critical weapons and equipment.” “Looking at the events of the last few years, our government has emphasized on self-reliance in defense production and preparedness. These days, we have witnessed many challenges in ensuring supply lines. External conditions have affected the serviceability of critical weapons and equipment. Therefore, stepping up efforts for self-reliance in defence is the biggest need of the hour,” said Rajnath Singh. The Defence Minister was addressing the diamond jubilee conclave of Chetak helicopter in Hyderabad. The Chetak helicopter has completed 60 years of service in the inventory of the Indian Armed Forces. It is believed that the Indian Air Force postponed India’s major firepower demonstration Exercise Vayu Shakti 2022 scheduled to be held at Pokhran test facility near Bikaner on March 7 in order to preserve its Russian origin reserves given the uncertainty of imports due to the ongoing war in Ukraine and western sanctions. “We couldn’t progress at an expected pace in the defence production sector. Our dependence on other countries for defence needs kept increasing in the past. The task of protecting a huge country like India cannot be left to other countries for long. We have to strengthen our own shoulders to protect ourselves,” said Rajnath Singh while talking about attempts to indigenise defence equipment. Rajnath Singh said the government is getting positive responses from Services, research and development organisations, and public and private sector industries. “Our MSMEs, start-ups, innovators and academia together are exploring new avenues of defense production,” he said. He said in order to become a global leader India needs to make progress in the design of its own 10 Ton Indian Multirole Helicopter. “It has huge market potential on the one hand, and it is also a significant requirement for our own forces on the other,” he said. The minister said as per an estimate, there is a demand for more than one thousand civilian helicopters in India, and an equal number of helicopters in the military sector. “This is a huge potential in the helicopter market, which we must proceed to exploit,” he said. ASU SY 1425