Claiming that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has been transformed into a strong, confident and self-reliant nation, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, on Tuesday, said, “India never attacked any country nor has it captured an inch of foreign land but if anyone tries to cast an evil eye on us, we will give a befitting reply.”

The 2016 surgical strike and 2019 Balakot air strike were proof of the fact that India’s military prowess was no less than that of any country, Singh said after unveiling the statue of Panna Dhai at a function in Udaipur.

Panna Dhai was the nursemaid to Udai Singh II, the fourth son of Sangram Singh I, popularly known as Rana Sanga. Paying glowing tribute to her, Singh commended the bravery of Panna Dhai, who sacrificed her son to protect Udai Singh II, father of Maharana Pratap, in the interest of Mewar and the entire country.

Singh said that India is well equipped to deal with all kinds of threats and challenges, and the steps taken by the government in the last eight years have injected new confidence into the armed forces, he said.

“India is no longer weak. We clarified our stand on terrorism when our armed forces, displaying tremendous might, carried out surgical strikes in 2016 and the Balakot airstrike in 2019. It was proof that India’s military prowess is no less than that of any country,” said Singh.

Singh said that ‘New India’ is moving shoulder-to-shoulder with powerful countries, and listed a number of steps taken by the Ministry of Defence to promote ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defence, including the issuance of three positive indigenization lists of 310 items and earmarking 68 per cent of capital procurement budget for the domestic industry in the Union Budget 2022-23.

Singh underlined the fact that defence exports, which were worth about Rs 900 crore eight years ago, have now grown to around Rs 13,000 crore. A target of Rs 2.75 lakh crore worth of defence exports by 2047 has been set, he said, exuding confidence that India is well on course to achieve the objective.

He recalled and gave credit to Prime Minister Modi that the safe return of Indian nationals from Ukraine, amid the ongoing war with Russia, was a testament to Prime Minister Modi’s resolve of ensuring the safety and security of every Indian, according to a PIB statement.