India can attain self-reliance in Defence

The Indian army wants to equip solider on the frontline with niche technologies, said General Bipin Rawat at an industry seminar.

The army is identifying these requirements as it has done so in the past and had developed 45 solutions with help from the country’s defence sector and academia, the Army Chief pointed out.

“Indian Army will walk the extra mile to handhold Indian industry and absorb the technologies since we want to fight Indian wars with Indian solutions,” General Bipin Rawat stressed.

Speaking at the Army Technology Seminar ARTECH 2018 held by Army Design Bureau (ADB), he noted that the Indian industry has developed niche technology in the civilian sector.

General Rawat said future wars of India will be fought in difficult terrains under difficult circumstances.

Thus, every solution that the industry can provide, empowers the soldier, he added at the seminar held 8 Jan 2018.

Thus, there is no reason to believe that the same cannot be done in the defence sector as well, said Gen. Rawat who also unveiled a Compendium on Problem Definition Statements – Volume III (2018).

India can attain self-reliance in Defence only when all stakeholders, namely Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), the user, industry and the academia work together, elaborated Dr S Christopher, Chairman, DRDO and Secretary, R&D.

The Indian Defence sector has opportunity for all, from Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to large players, added Dr Christopher.

He urged the services not to stop parallel activity of research while meeting immediate requirements through imports, so that the indigenous technology is absorbed as soon as it is developed.

With the advancements in technologies, especially in the artificial intelligence domain, it will be all the more critical to have control over technology and equipment, said Dr Christopher. fii-news.com