STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 10 JANUARY Defence Minister Raj nath Singh empha sized India’s grow ing appeal as an investment destination, par ticularly in the defence and aerospace sectors, during the Ambassadors’ Round Table held today as a precursor to Aero India 2025. Addressing Ambassadors and High Com missioners from various nations, Singh highlighted Aero India 2025 as a platform for friendly nations to explore collaborative strengths and capabilities in the defence sector, catering to both strate gic and tactical needs. Acknowledging the current global security challenges and geopolitical tensions, Singh stressed the importance of collective global action. “Like-minded countries must strive together for peace and prosperity. Without these, future generations cannot fully benefit from the eco nomic growth and techno logical innovations of our era,” he said. The Defence Minister pointed out that India is emerging as a leading voice for the Global South and champions a multi-aligned policy approach, ensuring diverse perspectives are included in the pursuit of global prosperity. He referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s five guiding princi ples—Respect, Dialogue, Cooperation, Peace, and Pros perity—as central to India’s commitment to addressing global challenges. He further noted that India’s vision of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (One Earth, One Family), which was the theme of the G-20 Summit in 2023, reflects its dedication to shared pros perity and responsibility. Singh also underscored the Indian government’s HP govt to strengthen State Electricity Board focus on self-reliance in the defence and aerospace sectors. “India possesses one of the largest defence industrial ecosystems in Asia, and the government remains com mitted to enhancing its capa bilities,” he said. Highlighting key milestones, he referred to the collaboration between Tata Advanced Systems Lim ited and Airbus Defence and Space in establishing the C 295 transport aircraft man ufacturing facility for the Indian Air Force, showcasing India’s ability to attract foreign investments and partner ships. He added that Aero India 2025 will act as a pivotal plat form for fostering collabo ration among industry leaders, technology experts, and entre preneurs. “The event will open new avenues for defence industrial enterprises and provide opportunities for partnerships that will shape inclusive and sustainable growth,” Singh said. The Defence Minister also emphasized the government’s transformative policy reforms aimed at promoting domestic design, development, man ufacturing, and exports in the defence sector. As part of its vision for Aatmanirbhar Bharat, the government has designated aerospace as a core sector. This has spurred significant advancements in cutting-edge defence tech nologies through active par ticipation from both public and private sectors. In conclusion, Singh called upon the global community to foster unity and collabo ration, stating that events like Aero India 2025 provide a vital forum for addressing contemporary challenges while driving collective growth and prosperity. Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, while chairing a review meeting of the agriculture department here on Friday, said that the state govern ment was committed to promote natural farming and all possible efforts were being made in this direc tion.He directed the depart ment to map farmers culti vating wheat and maize through natural farming methods across the state. “All farms under the agri culture department in the state would be fully devel oped for natural farming by next year, which would focus solely on producing seeds for natural farming”, he said while giving instruc tions for establishment of high-tech storage centres for wheat and maize pro duced through natural farm ing. He said that one lakh families would be linked with natural farming in the coming year and also direct ed to explore possibilities