India has embarked on the journey to achieve the goal of an inclusive and developed nation and the indigenous industries have a huge role to play in making the country a self-reliant, competitive and a robust economy, President Droupadi Murmu said on Friday.

She was addressing officers of the Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS) and probationers of the Indian Defence Accounts Service when they called on her at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

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The government, she said, has taken several policy initiatives in the past few years and brought in reforms to encourage indigenous design, development, and manufacturing of defence equipment.

She stressed that IOFS officers will be the movers and facilitators of indigenisation in defence systems and they would be expected to work towards enhancing India’s defence production capabilities.

The president told the officials that they have joined their services at a time when the country was undergoing extensive transformation at local as well as global level. With the emergence of new technologies and with latest techniques and information spreading at a fast pace in every part of the world, their role in the making of a developed nation and making India globally competitive, would become even more important. She stated that young officers’ thoughts, decisions and actions would contribute in a big way in shaping the future of defence systems and the country.

She told the officers of Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS) that they would be playing a vital role in managing the financial aspects of the country’s armed forces. They would be responsible for ensuring efficient financial management and accountability within the defence sector.

The president expressed confidence that with their professional integrity and based on their robust training modules, IDAS officers would be able to promote financial prudence in defence forces and contribute significantly in nation building. She urged them to adopt the latest techniques and methods for auditing and accounting for bringing in greater transparency and accountability in the functioning of defence systems.