Defence minister Rajnath Singh has emphasised the need to boost domestic manufacturing and said that India cannot remain dependent on the import of military hardware.
Highlighting the troubles India has faced in the past due to reliance on defence imports, Rajnath said that this can be “fatal” for its strategic autonomy.
He also pointed out the domestic defence production which has reached a record figure of Rs 1 lakh crore, up from around Rs 44,000 crore in 2014.
“We will be able to maintain strategic autonomy only when arms and equipment are made in our own country, by our people.
We worked towards this, and we also saw positive results,” he said at DefConnect 2024 .
“A huge country like India cannot remain dependent on imports in any important sector. If we continue to rely on imports of defence equipment and arms, it will make us dependent on other countries. This dependency can be fatal for our strategic autonomy,” he added.
The defence minister said that before 2014, a large part of India’s defence hardware was imported. If a significant portion of a country’s security related equipment is imported, then that country may have to face many difficulties in critical situations.
“No country shares the best technology. The technology that we receive from other countries isn’t related to our learning, it is possible only when we develop it indigenously… We have encouraged the youth that bring innovative ideas. Innovation for Defence Excellence (iDEX) has been brought to increase innovation and technology in the defence sector,” Rajnath said.
” I want to congratulate the Department of Defence Production for starting the Acing Development of Innovative Technology with the iDEX (ADITI) scheme and choosing this name which means mother of gods… We need a platform to let the private sector flourish and to have that platform we need many things like law & order, a healthy & skilled workforce, the rule of law and an ecosystem for research and development,” he added.
He launched Acing Development of Innovative Technologies with iDEX (ADITI) scheme to promote innovations in critical and strategic defence technologies, during DefConnect 2024 in New Delhi. Under the scheme, start-ups are eligible to receive a grant-in-aid of up to Rs 25 crore for their research, development, and innovation endeavours in defence technology .
“The scheme will nurture the innovation of youth, and help the country leap forward in the field of technology,” the defence minister said.
