Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be handing over the Arjun Main Battle Tank Mark-1A (MK-1A) to the Indian Army tomorrow (Feb 14) in Chennai.
Secretary of Defence Research and Development and Chairman of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), G Satheesh Reddy, said it is a great decision by the prime minister to dedicate MK-1A to the nation, adding that it's a step towards making India self-reliant.
"It is a great decision by Prime Minister to dedicate MK-1A to the nation by handing it over to Indian Army, giving a message that India stands by its indigenous systems and they would be promoted and encouraged in a big way," he told ANI.
"People in the country and the organisations should strive in making state of art indigenous systems so that in the upcoming years the armed forces will have the maximum indigenous content based equipment," he added.
Reddy said many more of these tanks are currently being planned and developed including air-to-air missile Astra for IAF and navy, smart anti-airfield weapon, air-independent propulsion, ATAGS guns, future aircraft and medium power radar.
The cost of 118 tanks is Rs 8,500 crore, he said.
"Around 200 industries are working in a chain for the order in different ways, and provide employment for more than 8,000 people, which will boost the industries and the country's economy in a big way," Reddy further said.
