Billionaire banker Uday Kotak on Sunday highlighted how geography is an important factor when it comes to wars and stressed on the need to be "atmanirbhar" or self sufficient when it comes to the country's resources, especially for its military needs.
He was referring to India's dependence on Russia for its defence equipment. "Ukraine Russia conflict highlights that geography matters. For India, with China on one side and Pakistan on the other, both nuclear enabled, our dependence on Russian military equipment, and US far away, we have challenges," the CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank tweeted.
Russia is India's biggest supplier of defence weapons.
Last December, India and Russia inked four defence pacts and resolve to expand military ties. The allies inked an agreement for joint production of over six lakh AK-203 assault rifles at a manufacturing facility in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi besides firming up another pact on military cooperation for 10 years. The rifles will be manufactured for the Indian armed forces at a cost of around Rs 5000 crore.
Highlighting the dependency on Russian military equipment, Uday Kotak tweeted, "One thing this war teaches for sure: be atmanirbhar!"Ukraine Russia conflict highlights that geography matters. For India, with China on one side and Pakistan on the other, both nuclear enabled, our dependence on Russian military equipment, and US far away, we have challenges. One thing this war teaches for sure : be Atmanirbhar!
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— Uday Kotak (@udaykotak) February 27, 2022
This is the first time that Kotak chose to speak up about the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but being "atmanirbhar" has been one of his core interests. After the announcement of Union Budget 2022 earlier this month, Kotak tweeted that it was a trust-based governance to make India self sufficient.
Budget: trust based governance to build atmanirbhar bharat. Reposes faith in taxpayers, entrepreneurs, investors. Build an open, digital and inclusive India with a 25 year vision. I am proud to be Indian.
— Uday Kotak (@udaykotak) February 1, 2022
Kotak's tweet resonated with a number of Twitter users. Global market watcher Sanjay Dutt tweeted, "The biggest story for investors, ordinary citizens and the government is the atmanirbhar push. India infra and manufacturing creates jobs, wealth, improves standard of living and most importantly tackles poverty and inequity. Every Indian needs to focus on this."
While management consultant Alpesh Patel said, "Well said. But it's not just geography, it's also 'reliability'. Russia will any day offer a more reliable response to India's call when India is in trouble. While with USA, UK, etc. you never know."
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