DRDO Chief hails PM Modi's decision to dedicate Army's Arjun Mark 1A tank to nation

Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Chief Satheesh Reddy on Saturday expressed joy over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to dedicate the Main Battle Tank Arjun Mark 1A to the nation on Sunday. 

"It's a great decision by PM to dedicate MK-1A to the nation by handing it over to Army, giving a message that India stands by its indigenous systems & that they'd be promoted & encouraged in a big way. It's a step towards making India self-reliant," said the DRDO Chief. 

Prime Minister 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 defense. 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 said. 

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.

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(With ANI Inputs)