Self-reliance is not an option, but a necessity as India faces a double threat on its borders, along with new dimensions of warfare that are emerging in today’s fast-changing world, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Saturday.

Addressing a defence dialogue on ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ in Lucknow, Rajnath Singh said a strong and self-reliant military was the backbone of a sovereign nation, which, besides protecting the borders, safeguarded the country’s civilisation and culture.

He asserted that the government was ensuring that the armed forces were not dependent on foreign weapons and equipment, emphasising that the real strength lay in being ‘Aatmanirbhar’, especially when an emergency situation arose.

Rajnath shared his insights on the paradigm shift brought about by technology in the nature of warfare. He stressed the need to develop indigenous state-of-the-art weapons and platforms that equip and prepare the armed forces to tackle new and emerging challenges.

“Most of the weapons today are electronic-based systems, which can reveal sensitive information to the adversaries. As imported equipment has certain limitations, we need to go beyond the horizon and achieve self-reliance in niche technologies. The latest weapons/equipment are equally important as the bravery of our soldiers. If India wishes to become a military power at the global level, there is no other option than being self-reliant in defence manufacturing,” he said.

Listing the advantages of being ‘Aatmanirbhar’, the minister stated that it would not only decrease the expenditure on imports but also multi-dimensionally benefit the civil sector. He called for developing dual-use technology that, besides strengthening the defence sector, improved the standard of living of the people.

Rajnath enumerated the steps taken by the government to create a robust defence ecosystem, which not only catered to domestic requirements but also fulfilled the security needs of friendly countries. These included setting up of Defence Industrial Corridors (DIC) in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu; earmarking of a record 75 per cent of the defence capital procurement budget (approx. Rs one lakh crore) for the domestic industry in Financial Year 2023-24; 25 per cent R & D budget for private industry and Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) initiative and Technology Development Fund to promote start-ups.

He highlighted that the government’s efforts in the last few years have resulted in over Rs one lakh crore defence production and nearly Rs 16,000 crore in exports in Financial Year 2022-23. He exuded confidence that the defence exports would soon cross Rs 20,000-crore mark. “We are moving ahead at an unprecedented pace to achieve the Prime Minister’s vision of making India a developed nation by 2047. The aim is to build an economically powerful and completely self-reliant India, which is also a net defence exporter,” he added.