New Delhi, August 20: Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday stated that the Centre had approved the proposal for providing test facilities of government entities to the private defence sector. Though the formal order is yet to be issued, the Union government is aiming to remove various bottlenecks which used to come in the way of using test.

Commenting on the issue, Union Minister Singh said, as quoted by news agency ANI, "We've just approved the proposal for providing test facilities of govt entities to the private defence sector. A formal govt order to be issued, this has removed various bottlenecks which used to come in way of using test facilities by private entities." Rajnath Singh Says India Will Now Discuss PoK With Pakistan, Reiterates 'Terror and Talks Can't Go Together'

The Defence Minister also opined that numerous opportunities are available for foreign companies for investing in India through foreign direct investment way. Speaking about the Indian Air Force's strength, Singh said, "Indian Air Force is a technologically advanced and extremely potent force, the recent offensive strike against terrorist outfits in our neighbourhood speaks volumes about the reach and lethality of the formidable arm of the Indian Armed Forces."

Expressing similar views, IAF Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa said, "We can't wait for indigenous technology to replace obsolete warfighting equipment, neither will it be prudent to import every defence equipment from abroad. What we're doing is replacing our high-end obsolete weapons with indigenously developed ones."

Earlier, both Rajnath Singh and BS Dhanoa launched books on indigenisation efforts of defence equipment by services. The book was launched at a seminar on indigenisation plans of the Indian Air Force.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 20, 2019 12:40 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).