Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, currently on a three‑day visit to Sri Lanka, held a meeting with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Colombo.

In a post shared on X, Rajnath Singh described the engagement as highly productive. He conveyed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s greetings and congratulated the Sri Lankan President on completing two years in office.

He emphasised that India and Sri Lanka, as civilizational twins, close neighbours, and maritime partners, reaffirmed their commitment to work together for the development of their nations and the well‑being of their people. He also underlined their shared resolve to cooperate for regional security, safety, peace, and prosperity.

Continuing his engagements, Rajnath Singh addressed the Indian community in Sri Lanka. He highlighted India’s international economic transformation under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership over the past decade.

He noted that India has successfully concluded free trade agreements with 38 nations, contrasting this achievement with the UPA government’s record of signing agreements with only four countries before 2014.

He described the Free Trade Agreement with the European Union as the “mother of all deals”, opening access to the EU market valued at approximately ₹2,24,400 lakh crore. He added that this agreement reflects India’s diplomatic and economic capability, alongside Modi’s leadership qualities. Singh also pointed out that India’s free trade agreement with the United Kingdom has already been implemented.

The Defence Minister stressed that India ranks among the fastest‑growing major economies globally, contributing more than 16% to global growth. He explained that India’s economy doubled from about ₹1,68,000 lakh crore in 2014 to nearly ₹3,36,000 lakh crore over the past decade.

He highlighted that GDP grew at 7.8% in the first quarter of FY 2026‑27 despite global challenges, while average inflation remained at 4.7% over the last 12 years compared to 10‑11% previously.

Singh detailed sectoral expansions, noting that exports of goods and services rose from ₹45 lakh crore in 2014 to ₹79 lakh crore in FY 2025‑26. Electronic goods production surged from ₹1.9 lakh crore to over ₹11 lakh crore, with exports increasing by 700% to more than ₹3 lakh crore.

India has become the world’s second‑largest mobile phone manufacturer, with units rising from two to over 300. Mobile manufacturing grew to ₹5.5 lakh crore, while exports climbed nearly 163 times to ₹2.6 lakh crore. Automobile exports reached ₹1.20 lakh crore annually.

Turning to defence, Singh stated that India’s defence exports have reached a record high of about ₹39,000 crore compared to just ₹600 crore 12 years ago.

He highlighted the rise in the defence budget from approximately ₹2 lakh crore in FY 2013‑14 to ₹7.25 lakh crore in FY 2025‑26, underscoring India’s journey towards an Aatmanirbhar defence sector.

He also noted that India now hosts the world’s third‑largest Start‑Up ecosystem, with a rapidly growing number of unicorns.

He pointed to structural reforms such as GST, which established the ‘One Nation, One Tax’ regime. Welfare measures have lifted around 25 crore Indians out of poverty, while social security coverage has expanded to nearly 95 crore citizens.

Singh emphasised the rapid development of digital public infrastructure, broadband connectivity, UPI, and electrified railways. He also highlighted the JAM network and Direct Benefit Transfer mechanism, through which ₹51 lakh crore has been directly credited to citizens’ bank accounts.

The event was attended by Cabinet Minister Saroja Savithri Paulraj, Governor of the Western Province Hanif Yusoof, Deputy Minister Sundaralingam Pradeep, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Santosh Jha, senior Indian civil and military officials, and members of the Indian community.

ANI