Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh dedicated to the Nation 24 bridges and three roads, built by BRO in four States and two Union Territories, through a virtual event on December 28, 2021. Of the 24 bridges, nine are in Jammu and Kashmir; five each in Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh; three are in Uttarakhand and one each in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. Of the three roads, two are in Ladakh, and one is in West Bengal. The main highlight was the inauguration of India’s first indigenous Class 70 140-feet Double-Lane Modular Bridge, built at the height of 11,000 feet at Flag Hill Dokala, Sikkim and Chisumle-Demchok road at Umling La Pass at over 19,000 feet in Ladakh, which also holds the Guinness World Record of world’s highest motorable road. Raksha Mantri described the indigenous Double-Lane Modular Bridge as a shining example of ‘Aatmanirbharta’ and appreciated that it has been developed at a much lower cost and can be dismantled need be. The e-inauguration has taken the tally of infrastructure projects executed by BRO to a record 102 in a single working season in the 75th year of India’s Independence.

RAKSHA MANTRI LAYS FOUNDATION STONE FOR DEFENCE TECHNOLOGY AND TEST CENTRE AND BRAHMOS MANUFACTURING CENTRE IN LUCKNOW

Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh laid the foundation stone for Defence Technology & Test Centre (DTTC) and BRAHMOS Manufacturing Centre, established by DRDO in Lucknow on December 26 2021. A first of its kind DTTC is being set up to accelerate the growth of the defence and aerospace manufacturing clusters in the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor. The BRAHMOS Manufacturing Centre will produce the new BRAHMOS-NG (Next Generation) variant. This new centre will be ready over the next two to three years and will commence production at a rate of 80-100 BRAHMOS-NG missiles per year. 

INDIAN ARMY RESCUES STRANDED TOURISTS IN SIKKIM

Indian Army, in a statement, has said, “On December 25, 2021, approximately 1027 tourists who had been stuck in the upper reaches of East Sikkim near the China Border at Nathu La following heavy snow, were rescued by the Indian Army.”