Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh on 17 October inaugurated the third Production Line of Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk1A and the second Production Line of Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40) at the Nashik facility of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on October 17, 2025. He also flagged-off the first LCA Mk1A produced at the facility.
In his address, Raksha Mantri described the flight of the state-of-the-art aircraft as a shining symbol of India’s growing Aatmanirbharta in defence. Highlighting the transformation of the defence sector in the last decade under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, he asserted that the country, which once imported 65-70% of critical military hardware, is now manufacturing 65% of the equipment on its own soil. He voiced the Government’s resolve of increasing domestic manufacturing to 100% in the times to come.

