PM Narendra Modi vows territorial integrity amid rising China threats

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that India's commitment to peace is just as strong as its commitment to protect its territory, and listed his government's efforts in making the country a hub of defence manufacturing and bolstering the armed forces.

His remarks come amid increasing Chinese activities along the border and Beijing's efforts to expand its influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

Formally inaugurating the Defence Expo in South Chennai's Thiruvidandai, Modi also accused the previous UPA government of policy paralysis in the sector that "affected the country's military preparedness."

"We have seen the damage such laziness, incompetence, or perhaps some hidden motives, can cause to the nation. Not now, not anymore, never again," he said, in the presence of top executives of foreign as well as domestic defence firms.

Though the four-day-long Defence Expo, India's biennial exhibition of military platforms and weapons, began on Wednesday, it was formally inaugurated by the PM on Thursday.

DEATH OVER ROW

A 25-year-old man immolated himself in Tamil Nadu’s Erode district on Thursday, allegedly over the Central and state governments’ “inaction” on the Cauvery issue