Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has exhorted research institutes to speed up activities in advanced technology and achieve progress to make India fully capable of dealing with emerging threats related to cyber and space. Addressing the 12th convocation ceremony of Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT), Pune in Maharashtra on May 15, 2023, Rajnath Singh shared insights on the continuously changing political and economic equations among nations in the current global scenario. The Raksha Mantri stated that Science & Technology and methods of warfare are evolving at a rapid pace and there is a need to make fast progress in advanced technology to deal with non-kinetic or contactless warfare, which the world today is witnessing, in addition to the conventional methods. “If our adversary possesses more advanced technologies, it can be a cause of concern for us in the future. There is an urgent need to move fast towards technological advancements in line with the changing times. This responsibility lies with our institutions. Defence sector is not a stagnant lake, but a flowing river. Just as a river, we need to keep surging ahead overcoming obstacles,” he said.
Highlighting the deep connection between cutting edge technologies and defence research, Rajnath Singh also called upon the institutions such as DIAT to come up with new innovations which are not only useful to the defence sector, but equally effective for civilians as well. Elaborating on the Government’s vision to achieve ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defence, the Raksha Mantri termed it as the most crucial component, which is essential for strengthening the security apparatus of the country. He, however, clarified that self-reliance does not mean isolation from the world. “Today, the world has become a global village and isolation isn’t possible. The aim of self-reliance is to meet the needs of the Armed Forces by building necessary equipment/platforms with our own capacity while fulfilling the security requirements of our friendly countries,” he said.
Rajnath Singh emphasised that dependence on import of defence equipment can become a hindrance to India’s strategic autonomy, which is the main reason the Government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is making all-out efforts to achieve self-reliance in the sector. “Without self-reliance, we cannot take independent decisions on global issues in line with our national interests. More equipment we import; more adverse impact it will have on our Balance of Trade. We aim to become a net exporter instead of net importer. It will not only strengthen our economy, but increase employment opportunities,” he said.
