Drass (Ladakh) [India], July 26 (ANI): Kargil War veteran Colonel (Retd) Rajesh Jindal on Sunday said India's self-reliance in the defence sector has grown significantly over the past five years, adding that the country has transformed from being one of the world's largest defence importers into a growing defence exporter.

Speaking to ANI on the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas, he said that Operation Sindoor demonstrated to the world that India has made great technological advances.

'...The first thing that the entire world has seen in Operation Sindoor is the way our technology has advanced, the way our missiles have actually done the damage to the enemy, so the technology has taken a big lead...'

He also pointed towards a place where the Indian forces had won their first battle during the Kargil War and said that the war had caught the Indian armed forces 'all of a sudden'.

'The circumstances under which the Kargil war was fought it was all of a sudden, and we were not expecting it the way it happened. If we talk about 1999, this war lasted for about two and a half months; it started in May... The first battle that we won was here in the place where we are standing, which was very critical... This Kargil War Memorial has many memories of that; 546 people were martyred...,' he recalled.

Highlighting the country's progress in indigenous defence manufacturing, Jindal said India's growing self-reliance has significantly strengthened its strategic capabilities and deterrence.

'During the last five years, if you look at the way our defence production has increased and self-reliance in defence has increased, the whole world knows about it. Earlier, we used to be considered the largest importer in the world; today we are also standing at the forefront in the category of exporters in the world. So the situation has changed a lot, and the enemy cannot even think of daring to do that to us anymore,' Jindal added.

Earlier in the day, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh paid tributes to soldiers who laid down their lives for the country during the Kargil War in 1999.

He laid a wreath at the Kargil War Memorial in Drass to mark Kargil Vijay Diwas. Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena also laid a wreath at the memorial to pay tributes to the bravehearts.

The 27th Kargil Vijay Diwas marks India's victory in the Kargil War, when the Indian Armed Forces recaptured strategic mountain peaks occupied by Pakistani troops and intruders after nearly three months of intense fighting in the Himalayan region (ANI)