New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed the need of strengthening the domestic defence production and making cyber security integral to national security, said that India will soon issue a third “positive indigenization” list after the first two banned imports of 209 weapon systems, platforms and ammunition for the armed forces.
While addressing a webinar on ‘Aatmanirbharta In Defence – Call To Action’ on Friday, PM Modi said that for developing a vibrant ecosystem for research, design and development in defence manufacturing in India, budget 2022-23 has laid a blueprint. Almost 70% of capital procurements in defence have been earmarked for the domestic industry as well as 25% of the R&D budget for private industry, startups and academia.
Further PM Modi said that if every country has the same equipment, there will be no uniqueness with forces. He said, “If 10 countries will have the same type of defence equipment, your defence forces would have no uniqueness. Uniqueness and the element of surprise are possible only when the equipment is developed in your own country.”
The customised weapon systems would surprise the enemy.
Contracts of Rs. 54,000 Crores have been signed with the domestic industry, while deals worth another Rs. 4.5 lakh crore are in the pipeline at different stages, after the defence ministry issued the first two “positive indigenization” or negative arms embargo import lists. “The third list will come soon,” he said.
There is a six times increase in the nation’s defence export in past few years. India is now exporting ‘Make In India’ weapons and equipment in more than 75 countries.
PM Modi says that cyber security is no longer limited to the digital world. He said, “India’s IT sector is our great strength. The more we use this power in our defence sector, the more confident we will be in our security. For example, cybersecurity is no longer limited to the digital world only. It has become a matter of national security.”
For encouraging the domestic industry and startups, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh made a few announcements. At least five projects under the ‘Make-I’ category will be sanctioned during 2022-23 fiscal to promote industry-led R&D efforts, he said.
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