India showed last year that it is capable of taking all measures to overcome challenges, be it the Covid-19 pandemic or at its borders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday.

Addressing a rally of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) in New Delhi, Modi said India has shown its capabilities on all fronts as he referred to production of Made in India vaccines against the virus.

“Whether it is developing protective shields of the vaccine or destroying with modern missiles intentions of those challenging India, the country is capable on all fronts,” he said.

India has been engaged in a border standoff with China for months now, along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

If India is ‘aatmanirbhar’ in the field of vaccines, it is also trying with equal vigour to modernise its armed forces, Modi said.

The prime minister asserted that all steps are being taken to ensure that every wing of India’s armed forces is the best, adding that the country now has excellent “war machines”.

Referring to the mid-air refuelling of Rafale fighter aircraft while they were on way to India, Modi said it was done in UAE and Saudi Arabia and Greece also helped. This highlights our growing ties with Gulf countries, he said.

Speaking of his government’s efforts to boost domestic defence manufacturing, he said, “India will soon be known as a big producer of defence equipment instead of a big market as it is today.”