The Ministry of Defence has listed the promotion of Nari Shakti, self-reliance and border infrastructure as major highlights of 2023.
2023 was a landmark year for the Ministry of Defence as giant strides were made towards realising the vision of the Government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to create a strong, secure, self-reliant, and inclusive India, an official press release from the Ministry of Defence informed on Friday.
As per the release, efforts to achieve ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defence and Armed Forces modernisation surged ahead with renewed thrust, with the country witnessing record defence exports and all-time high defence production.
“Strengthening border Infrastructure, utilising Nari Shakti and ensuring Ex-Servicemen Welfare has been at the core of the functioning of MoD under the guidance of the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and these have moved forward with unprecedented pace and vigour,” the release further stated.
It said that in 2023, the Defence Acquisition Council, chaired by Rajnath Singh, approved in its meetings proposals worth a total of over Rs 3.50 lakh crore to enhance the operational preparedness of the Armed Forces.
118 infrastructure projects of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) were dedicated to the Nation by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh this year.
Currently, BRO is working on 20 tunnels with 10 under construction and 10 under the planning stage. In the current year, 3,179m of bridges have been completed. The second phase of the upgradation of the Amarnath Yatra Tracks commenced in September, it said.
Shattering the glass ceiling, Captain Shiva Chauhan became the first woman officer to get operationally deployed in Kumar Post, Siachen Glacier in January. Siachen is the world’s highest battlefield. In December, Captain Geetika Koul became the first woman medical officer to be deployed at Siachen after completing the induction training at Siachen Battle School.
Days later, Captain Fatima Wasim became the first woman medical officer to be deployed on an operational post on the Siachen Glacier, as per the release.
The Government order for revision of pension of Armed Forces Pensioners/family pensioners under One Rank One Pension (OROP) effective from July 01, 2019, was issued on January 4, 2023.