Atmanirbhar Bharat: India, US to unveil major defence deal next month

In a big boost for the Indian military and the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, India and the United States (US) are on track to finalise a major defence deal for the joint manufacture of indigenous jet engines of fighter aircraft. According to media reports, the project is to be jointly carried out by state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and US company General Electric (GE). The defence deal may be announced when Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes a state visit to the US next month. Officials were quoted as saying by the media that while the manufacture of aviation engines will be the initial focus of the partnership between HAL and General Electric (GE), it will eventually extend to engines for ships for the Indian Navy. If the deal goes through, it will be one of the most definitive defence partnerships between India and the United States (US). Transfer of Technology (ToT) for fighter aircraft engines was the main focus of the discussions when National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval held a dialogue with his US counterpart Jack Sullivan last February. The duo had launched the US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) at the time, which had been announced by US President Joe Biden and PM Modi in May last year. Read all the Latest News, Trending News,  Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.