Last Updated on September 18, 2025 7:58 pm by BIZNAMA NEWS
AMN / NEW DELHI
India’s growing influence on the international stage reflects its steady progress toward becoming a developed nation by 2047, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday. Addressing the inaugural session of the two-day national conference MANTHAN 2025 in New Delhi, he underlined that aligning policies and actions with national interest is the key to achieving this vision.
Mr Singh called upon the Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES) officers to strive for the development of Cantonment Boards into smart, green and sustainable urban ecosystems in sync with the Government’s vision of transforming India into a developed country, and to aspire to achieve the target by 2035.
Appreciating IDES officers for successfully fulfilling a dual responsibility, the Minister noted that, in collaboration with the Armed Forces, the service is managing over 18 lakh acres of defence land and ensuring the welfare of civilians residing in 61 cantonments pan-India. He stressed on the need to develop cantonments like modern cities by continuously upgrading systems and processes to make service delivery more efficient, transparent and citizen-friendly. He said that smart power systems, renewable energy grids, EV charging hubs, smart waste-to-energy plants, and AI-based surveillance systems should be installed to improve the lives of citizens.
Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh and Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar also attended the event. The conference is being organised by the Directorate General of Defence Estates on the central theme Strategic Roadmap to Viksit Bharat@2047.
The two-day conference will focus on the evolving role of the Defence Estates Department in re-imagining defence land management, leveraging advanced digital tools and technologies and strengthening governance frameworks and sustainability. Over the course of two days, the conference will witness a series of insightful sessions and lectures by senior government functionaries and domain experts on topics critical to the future of land management in the defence sector.
