Rajnath Singh and Czech First Deputy PM Karel Havlíček agree to expand defence industrial cooperation

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Rajnath Singh and Czech First Deputy PM Karel Havlíček agree to expand defence industrial cooperation

13 October 2026

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held bilateral talks in New Delhi on 13 October 2026 with Karel Havlíček, 1st Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade of Czech Republic. The two leaders reviewed the entire spectrum of defence industrial cooperation between the two countries. They welcomed the ongoing collaboration and the successful establishment of various joint ventures. They agreed to expand the cooperation further, including under the India-Czech Joint Defence Committee, to promote 'Make-in-India' and 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'. Havlíček is on a four-day visit to India and is scheduled to visit industries in Bengaluru and Mumbai.

Visiting leader: Karel Havlíček, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Length of visit: Four days Cooperation forum: India-Czech Joint Defence Committee Cities on itinerary: Bengaluru and Mumbai

Why it matters for exams: Bilateral defence ties and the institutions that carry them (such as joint committees) appear in current-affairs and international-relations questions.

Kerala PSCUPSCSSC

13 October 2026 Source: Press Information Bureau (Ministry of Defence)

In plain words

Joint Defence Committee India-Czech Joint Defence Committee — The bilateral forum under which the two sides agreed to take defence industrial cooperation forward.

Aatmanirbhar Bharat Self-reliant India — The national self-reliance campaign cited as a goal of the cooperation.