New Delhi: Defence Minister Arun Jaitley has asserted that India needs  to always remain prepared to defend itself as "it is our best defence" in view of its geographical location and  "multiple threats",  He also stressed on the need for equipping the forces with the "required support system".

"In the current geopolitical situation, we are located at a place where we have multiple threats. And to face those multiple threats, our preparedness itself, as I was emphasising, is our best defence. There is no area that we can leave uncovered," he said.

Jaitley added that even though the entire country had confidence in the armed forces, which represented some of the best traditions anywhere in the world, "as part of our preparedness, we obviously need to equip our forces with all the support system they require".

The Union minister made these remarks while attending an event marking the handing over of a long-range, surface-to-air missile to the Indian Navy in Hyderabad.

Lauding the Indian talents, Jaitley said that local human resources were now capable of offering services to other developed economies at a cheaper price.

"There is hardly any country in the developed world, where the presence of Indian minds is not visible, be it in the field of medicine, science or technology. And, therefore, not only do we have a large human resource pool, we have surplus resources which serve other countries too," he added.