New Delhi — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has opened his country's largest helicopter factory.
The factory in the south-western state of Karnataka is to produce more than 1,000 helicopters worth the equivalent of around $48 billion in two decades, the Indian news agency PTI reported on Monday, citing the Defence Ministry in New Delhi.
The investment in the aerospace sector in the past nine years is four to five times higher than in the 15 years before 2014, Modi, who has been prime minister since 2014, said at the inauguration, according to Times of India.
"From modern assault rifles, aircraft carrier, to fighter jets are being manufactured by India," Modi said.
India, with a population of around 1.4 billion, has one of the largest armies in the world. The nuclear power is also one of the world's largest importers of military hardware.
New Delhi is also very dependent on Russia because of a historically close relationship with Moscow. Recently, however, the country has tried to increasingly produce more defence equipment domestically.
India has already fought wars with its two neighbouring countries, China and Pakistan. These countries also have nuclear capacity.
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