"Must achieve high degree of self-reliance in critical defence abilities": Rajnath Singh

Singh was addressing the 'Raksha Navachar Samvad' in New Delhi. He mentioned that India is a leader in cutting-edge technological industries; to make India a leader, we must achieve advancements in new niche technologies.

The Raksha Mantri noted that if India is able to achieve all these three goals, then India can become the world's leading country in the field of defence innovation.

"Today, as we move forward with the goal of becoming a 'Viksit Bharat' by 2047, we must keep three key things in mind: first, we must achieve a high degree of self-reliance in critical defence capabilities. Second, we must become a prominent global exporter in the defence sector. Third, to advance India in cutting-edge technological sectors and make India a leader, we must achieve advancements in some new niche technologies. If we can achieve these three things, we will not only be able to establish India as a developed nation by 2047, but also make India the world's leading country in the field of defence innovation," he said.

He stressed the significant increase in the importance of "non-contact warfare", highlighting the technology-oriented nature of warfare in the modern era, as witnessed during Operation Sindoor.

The Defence Minister stated that the country must not only master the current state-of-the-art technologies, such as AI and quantum technology, but also consider futuristic technologies that are yet to be discovered globally.

"Today's warfare has become completely technology-oriented. We witnessed a demonstration of this in Operation Sindoor. We saw that the importance of non-contact warfare, such as drones, anti-drone warfare, and air defence systems, has increased significantly. Consequently, both your challenges and your responsibilities are increasing. We must not only master existing state-of-the-art technologies, such as AI, quantum technology in defence, etc., but also consider futuristic technologies that the world has yet to even imagine," Rajnath Singh said.

He informed that India's capital acquisition from domestic sources was around Rs 74,000 crore in 2021-22 and is expected to increase to Rs 1.2 lakh crore by the end of 2024-25.

"In 2021-22, our capital acquisition from domestic sources was around Rs 74,000 crore, but by the end of 2024-25, capital acquisition from domestic sources will have increased to approximately Rs 1.2 lakh crore. This change is not just about data, but also about thinking," Rajnath said.

The Defence Minister also lauded the efforts involved towards achieving the Rs 1.5 lakh crore and Rs 24,000 crore defence exports and production.

"We set a target in the short term, and you worked tirelessly for it, and finally achieved it. If we've been able to achieve defence production worth more than Rs 1.5 lakh crore and defence exports worth Rs 24,000 crore, you all played a very important role in it. I commend your efforts for this," he added. (ANI)