Rajnath Singh, India’s defence minister, said on Thursday that the country must prioritise defence technology progress in light of the “double threat” present at its borders. He was alluding to difficulties at Pakistan’s and China’s boundaries. In his speech at the conference, Singh stressed the need of doing in-depth research to create military technology that the nation can use to handle a variety of security concerns.
“For a country like India, it becomes very important because we are facing a double threat on our borders. In such a situation, it is very important for us to move forward in terms of technological advancement,” he said.
“Today we are one of the largest armies in the world, the bravery of our army is discussed all over the world. In such a situation, it becomes imperative that we have a technologically advanced army to protect the interests of the country,” he added.
The defence minister’s remarks were made against the backdrop of the ongoing border dispute in eastern Ladakh and Pakistan’s ongoing backing for international terrorism.
In his remarks, Singh also urged the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and academics to work together to ensure the necessary scientific improvement.
“The only way for this advancement is research. It is the need of the hour that both DRDO and academia work in tandem,” he said
“The more this partnership grows, I think India’s research sector will also grow in the same proportion. Scientists and experts from both the DRDO and academia are sitting here,” he said.
“Although all of you will connect with each other through partnership, I want all of you to try to connect with each other at the individual and institutional level as well,” Singh added.
In response to the numerous problems the nation is experiencing, Singh stated that cooperation and joint efforts are required to properly address them.
“Today we see many major challenges in front of us. When it comes to the defence of the country, then these challenges become more widespread,” he said.
“No institution can deal with these challenges alone. The most important thing we can do to address these challenges is collective effort and partnership,” he said.
Singh said the partnership between DRDO and academia would also help DRDO develop dual use technologies.
In this manner, he stated, “DRDO would proceed towards the creation of dual use technologies if the collaboration between DRDO and academia is created.
Dual use technologies are ones that serve both civilian and military purposes.
