Make-in-India initiative: PM Modi to dedicate indigenous Arjun Battle tank to nation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday will dedicate the Main Battle Tank Arjun Mark1A to the country. This comes as yet another boost for 'Make in India' in defence. The Defence Ministry recently cleared the induction of 118 Arjun Mark1A tanks into the Indian Army which would be worth around ₹8,400 crores and would add to the strength of the force in land warfare.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be dedicating the latest version of the Arjun tank to the nation on February 14 in Chennai at the tank production facility in Avadi," Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) officials told ANI

Made-in-India Arjun Mark 1A tank

Arjun Mark 1A Tank is an indigenously made tanker by DRDO for the Indian Army. This tank is a third-generation main battle rank, which is named after 'Arjun', the archer prince who is one of the main protagonists of the epic Mahabharata. The tank has 72 more features as compared to its older version. The 118 tanks would be joining the fleet of the first batch of 124 Arjun tanks which have already been inducted into the Army and are deployed in the western desert along the Pakistan front. The 118 Arjun tanks would also form two regiments in the Armoured Corps of the Indian Army like the first 124 tanks.

TEJAS LCA deal 

Earlier this month, the government formally sealed the Rs 48,000 crore deal to procure 83 Tejas light combat aircraft from state-run aerospace behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. The contract was handed over by Director General (Acquisition), Ministry of Defence, V L Kantha Rao to Chairman and Managing Director of HAL, R Madhavan, at the inaugural ceremony of Aero India-2021, the country's premier defence and aerospace show in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Tejas, manufactured by the HAL, is a single-engine and highly agile multi-role supersonic fighter aircraft capable of operating in high-threat air environments. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month approved the deal for procurement of the 73 Tejas Mk-IA variant and 10 LCA Tejas Mk-I trainer aircraft from the HAL to boost IAF's combat prowess. 

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(With ANI Inputs)