India developing NE states’ infrastructure: Defence secretary

IANS
Agartala, February 8

India is developing its infrastructure in the northeastern states’ areas bordering China, a top defence ministry official said here. India’s two northeastern states – Arunachal Pradesh (1,080 km) and Sikkim (220 km) – share 1,300 km border with China.
“We have to make developments there (northeastern border with China). Our bordering infrastructure, including roads, has to improve. We are working on that,” Defence Secretary Radha Krishna Mathur told reporters Saturday evening.
“No defence deal has yet been done with China and there are no such possibilities also. The border issues will definitely be discussed when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits China in May,” said Mathur, who is also the acting chief of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
He said India is procuring some Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) from Israel and its Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon would visit India next week.
“We have placed order for that (UAV),” he said.
“Israel is a major defence partner of India. We have been procuring a lot of things from the country,” said the secretary, who came here to examine the Tripura government’s demand of handing over the land currently held by the Indian Army and Assam Rifles in Agartala.
He said India is increasing its defence exchange programme with Bangladesh and the US.
The DRDO and Israel Aerospace Industries are jointly developing the Barak 8 air and missile defence system and this will be used both by the Israeli Navy and Indian defence forces.
To modernize India’s ageing defence equipments, it needs more FDI (foreign direct investment) in defence sector, Mathur said.
“I have come here according to the instruction of Modi, as he wanted every secretary to visit the state of his own cadre to oversee the developmental pace,” he said.
Mathur, who was the chief secretary in Tripura (2003-2006), also met Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and senior officials.