Flagging the slow pace of modernisation of the Indian Armed forces as compared to its adversaries, Army Chief General M M Naravane said here on Thursday that imports lead to vulnerability. He also cautioned “one cannot afford to have operational voids when the enemy is at the gate.”
His observations in a seminar came in the backdrop of the ongoing nine-month long stand-off with China at the Line of Actual Control(LAC)in Ladakh and Pakistan continuing to stoke terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.
Considering the quick pace of modernisation being undertaken by “our adversaries, we are lagging behind slightly,” the Army Chief said in a webinar organised on the occasion of 25 years of Army and industry partnership. He also said year 2020 threw up two challenges including the corona pandemic and the “belligerence on the northern borders.” He was referring to the face-offs in Eastern Ladakh.
While assuring that the Indian Army is committed to procure locally made weapon systems, Naravane, however, cautioned “but one cannot afford to have operational voids when enemy is at the gate.”
Enunciating this point, the Chief said, “An important issue one needs to keep in mind that indigenous development alone cannot fill existing... and operational voids due to lack of niche technology and manufacturing capability.
“Hence, there may be some inescapable need on certain percentage of imports. One cannot afford to have operational voids when the enemy is at the gates.”
Stressing on indigenisati0on, he said, “The events of the past year have brought to the fore the vulnerability of global supply chains, underscoring the need for self-reliance,” Naravane said.
He said self-reliance in defence has become a strategic necessity. “It is imperative for us to invest in building long term indigenous capabilities for application across the entire spectrum of conflict,” the Chief said.
He also said the niche technologies including artificial intelligence, autonomous unmanned systems, long range precision technology, quantum computing and swarm drones will certainly need to be acquired and absorbed as part of a deliberate and continuous process.
On the occasion, Defence Research and Development Organisation(DRDO)chief G Satheeh Reddy said there will be tremendous increase in defence exports from India in the next four to five years.”
Pointing to increasing security challenges due to India’s rising stature in the international community, apart from unresolved borders and revisionist adversaries, Naravane said it needed continuous and concerted capability building of the Army through modernisation.
Dual requirement of fast-tracking modernisation and simultaneously promoting self-reliance are challenges of a developing nation, he said.
The Army chief said 75 percent of our priority one projects in the 13th Army plan, costing over `1,50,000 crore are supporting efforts towards the Make in India programme.
At the event, an MoU between the Indian Army & Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) was also signed to provide further impetus to indigenisation and to achieve strategic independence by reducing dependence on foreign origin equipment.
Collaboration between the Indian Army and industry started in 1995 with the indigenisation of spares and has progressed to major defence platforms and a wide range of weapons and equipment.
Reddy said the DRDO has 1,800 private industries as Tier-1 and Tier-2 suppliers and more than 10,000 industries at Tier-3 level.
The DRDO is also trying to indigenise spares and components for all major systems like SU-30MKI fighters, T-90 and T-72 tanks and so on in collaboration with industry through the Technology Development Fund, he added.
