Our Bureau
New Delhi
There was a Defence Summit held this Saturday, on August 30th, where the Defence Secretary RK Singh has announced that the first two of the promised 10 Tejas Mark 1A jets will hopefully be delivered by the end of September, replacing MIG-21.
At the event, the Defence Secretary talked about the steps that the country has taken in the defence sector under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and how they are achieving ‘Atmanirbharta’ (self-reliance) in the sector. He highlighted that in order to maintain the nation’s strategic autonomy we need to ensure that we answer the needs for our defence within the country.
Mr. Singh said, “It is a strategic imperative now that we need to be self-reliant in order to maintain our strategic autonomy. The only way we can do that is by ensuring that the bulk of our defence needs are met within the country. Since Prime Minister Modi’s government came to power in 2014, the focus on self-reliance has been relentless.”
The Defence Secretary also highlighted that India has set a benchmark of spending 75% of its capital expenditure domestically. This means if any foreign companies are eyeing these orders they would first have to invest and make in India.
Mr. Singh was also asked about how drones have changed the nature of warfare and how India has incorporated it in their defence systems. Singh revealed that the country’s defence requires a lot of improvement and the drone manufacturing ecosystem is growing and expanding with time.
“Our air defence systems, including the legacy systems, worked very well-the layered systems work. In drones, I would say there is a lot of improvement required. Our civilian drone manufacturing ecosystem has grown and expanded quite a bit. To achieve military-grade drones, we need to put in a lot of effort, and our drone manufacturers are aware of it,” Mr. Singh said.
