Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveils SPRINT Challenges aimed at giving a boost to usage of indigenous technology in Indian Navy
Innovation is critical and it has
to be indigenous; Imported goods can’t be a source of innovation: Prime Minister
“The forces that harm India's interests, whether in the country or abroad, have
to be thwarted”
Like the ‘whole of the government’ approach for a self-reliant India, ‘whole of
the Nation’ approach is the need of the hour for defence of the nation: PM
Innovation & indigenisation central to achieve ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defence
and overall goal of safety, security & prosperity of the Nation: Raksha
Mantri
Indian Navy has witnessed a transformational journey from buyer to builder; It
is ready to deal with every situation, says Rajnath Singh
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi unveiled ‘SPRINT Challenges’, aimed at giving a boost to the
usage of indigenous technology in Indian Navy, during Naval Innovation and
Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) seminar ‘Swavlamban’ in New Delhi on July
18, 2022. In a bid to achieve ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defence and as part of ‘Azadi
ka Amrit Mahotsav’, NIIO, in conjunction with the Defence Innovation
Organisation (DIO), aims to induct at least 75 new indigenous
technologies/products into the Indian Navy. This collaborative project is named
SPRINT {Supporting Pole-Vaulting in R&D through Innovations for Defence
Excellence (iDEX), NIIO and Technology Development Acceleration Cell (TDAC)}.
Addressing
the gathering, the Prime Minister said the goal of self-reliance in the Indian
defence forces is very important for India of the 21st century. Organizing the
first 'Swavlamban' (self-reliance) seminar for a self-reliant Navy is an
important step in this direction. The Prime Minister said that the resolution
of creating 75 indigenous technologies in this period of making new resolutions
for India is inspiring in itself and he expressed confidence that it will be
fulfilled very soon. “We have to work to continuously increase the number of
indigenous technologies. Your goal should be that when India celebrates 100
years of its independence, at that time our Navy should be at an unprecedented
height”, he added.
Referring
to the importance of oceans and coasts in India’s economy, Shri Narendra Modi
said, the role of the Indian Navy is continuously increasing and therefore its
self-reliance is of critical importance.
Recalling
the glorious maritime tradition of the country, the Prime Minister stated that
the defence sector of India used to be very strong even before independence. At
the time of independence, there were 18 ordnance factories in the country,
where many types of military equipment including artillery guns, were made in
the country. India was an important supplier of defence equipment in World War
II. “Our howitzers, machine guns made at the Ishapur Rifle Factory, were
considered the best. We used to export a lot. But then what happened that at
one point in time we became the world's biggest importer in this field?”, he
asked. He said like the countries who capitalized on the challenge of the World
War to emerge as the big arms exporters, India too turned adversity into
opportunity during the Corona period and made strides in economy, manufacturing
and science. He lamented the fact that during the initial decades of the
Independence, there was no focus on the development of defence production and
research and development was severely limited due it being restricted to the
government sector. “Innovation is critical and it has to be indigenous.
Imported goods can’t be a source of innovation”, he said. He also stressed the
need for a change in mindset of attraction for imported goods.
Narendra
Modi stressed that the self-reliant defence system is critical for the economy
and also from the strategic point of view. He said the country has worked in
mission mode to reduce this dependence after 2014. He remarked that the
Government has given new strength to our public sector defence companies by
organising them in different sectors. Today we are making sure that we connect
our premier institutions like IITs with defence research and innovation.
“Learning from the approach of the past decades, today we are developing a new
defence ecosystem with the strength of everyone's efforts. Today defence
R&D has been opened for the private sector, academia, MSMEs and start-ups”,
he added. This has led to a new speed in long pending defence projects and the
Prime Minister expressed the confidence that the wait for commissioning of the
first indigenous aircraft carrier will be over soon.
In
the last eight years, the Prime Minister noted that the Government has not only
increased the defence budget, “we have also ensured that this budget is useful
in the development of the defence manufacturing ecosystem in the country
itself. Today, a large part of the budget earmarked for the purchase of defence
equipment is being spent on procurement from Indian companies.” He also
complemented the defence forces for preparing a list of 300 items that will not
be imported.
In
the last 4-5 years, Narendra Modi said the defence imports have come down by
about 21 per cent. Today we are moving fast from the biggest defence importer
to a big exporter. Last year, Rs 13,000 crore worth of defence export was done
with more than 70 percent of which being from the private sector, he pointed
out.
The
Prime Minister noted that now the threats to national security have also become
widespread, the methods of warfare are also changing. Earlier we used to
imagine our defence only till land, sea and sky. Now the circle is moving
towards space, moving towards cyberspace, moving towards economic, social
space. In such a scenario, the Prime Minister said that we have to move
anticipating the future challenges and change ourselves accordingly.
Self-reliance will help the country a great deal in this regard, he said.
The
Prime Minister warned against the new danger. He said “we also have to
intensify our war against forces challenging India's self-confidence, our
self-reliance. As India is establishing itself on the global stage, there are
constant attacks through misinformation, disinformation and false publicity,
etc. Keeping faith, the forces that are harming India's interests, whether in
the country or abroad, have to be thwarted in their every effort. National
defence is no longer limited to borders, but is much broader. Therefore, it is
equally necessary to make every citizen aware about it.” He continued “as we
are moving forward with the ‘whole of the government’ approach for a
self-reliant India, Similarly, the ‘whole of the Nation’ approach is the need
of the hour for the defence of the nation.” “This collective national
consciousness of various people of India is the strong basis of security and
prosperity”, the Prime Minister concluded.
In
his address, Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh defined innovation &
indigenisation as important components, which are central to a strong and
long-standing cooperation among the Armed Forces, Industry, R&D
establishments & academia. This collaboration is needed to achieve
‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defence and the overall goal of safety, security and
holistic development of the Nation, he said. Singh commended the Prime
Minister’s vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, likening it with the Swadeshi
movement of Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi. Asserting that ‘New India’ is
making giant strides to achieve self-reliance with a new resolve, he exuded
confidence that “we will soon end the dependency on imports and touch newer
heights.
The
Raksha Mantri pointed out that at a time when the Nation is celebrating ‘Azadi
Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, a new dimension of ‘self-reliance’ has been added to the
definition of freedom. “We have not only achieved self-sufficiency in food
grains, but are one of its major exporter countries. Vaccines manufactured in
India are saving lives of people all over the world. Our space craft is taking
satellites of other countries into space. Today, India is not only self-reliant
in many sectors, it is also fulfilling the needs of other countries,” he said.
Rajnath
Singh stressed that self-reliance not only means overcoming economic
constraints, but also to achieve decisional autonomy for the country by
overcoming diplomatic constraints. “The self-reliance efforts in the defence
sector, under the guidance of the Prime Minister, have transformed India’s
image and we will soon become a global manufacturing hub,” he said.
The
Raksha Mantri appreciated the Indian Navy for playing a pioneer role in this
endeavour by making remarkable progress in surface, sub-surface and air
domains; setting up an ‘in-house-ship-design-organisation’ and transforming
itself from a ‘Buyer’s Navy’ to a ‘Builder’s Navy’. He described the
ever-increasing indigenous content in warships as a testament to Indian Navy’s
unwavering commitment towards ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, saying that it is a matter
of great pride for the Nation that the shipyards and the industries are
together developing the capacity and capability of the Armed Forces.
Singh informed the Prime Minister that in line with the
‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ campaign, the Indian Navy spent over 64% of its capital
budget in domestic procurement in the last financial year and it is expected to
increase to 70% in the current financial year. With active participation of the
private sector, MSMEs and start-ups, innovation in the defence sector is being
promoted through several projects under the iDEX initiative and ‘Technology
Development Fund’. The Raksha Mantri highlighted that due to these efforts,
Indian Navy has developed necessary capabilities to not only safeguard India’s
maritime interests, but also of its friendly countries in line with the Prime
Minister’s vision of ‘Security and Growth for all in the Region’ (SAGAR).
The Raksha Mantri was of the view that the role of the
Indian Navy is going to increase further in the Indian Ocean Region and the
Indo-Pacific in the times to come. He expressed confidence that the Indian Navy
is ready to deal with every situation and will prove its mettle in all
circumstances, whenever needed.
Rajnath
Singh called upon the students and researchers present at the seminar to come
forward and make the Armed Forces and the Nation strong, prosperous and
‘Aatmanirbhar’ through research and innovation. He reiterated the Government’s
resolve to achieve self-reliance not only in the defence sector, but in all
domains and ensure sustainable development.
Raksha
Rajya Mantri Shri Ajay Bhatt, Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar, Chief of the
Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar, Vice Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Admiral SN
Ghormade and President of Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers Shri SP
Shukla were among those present on the occasion.
The
two-day seminar, to be held on July 18-19, 2022, aims to engage Indian industry
and academia towards achieving self-reliance in the Defence sector. It will
provide a platform for leaders from Industry, Academia, Services and Government
to come together on a common platform to ideate and come up with
recommendations for the Defence Sector. Sessions dedicated to Innovation,
Indigenisation, Armament and Aviation will be held. The second day of the
Seminar will witness outreach to the Indian Ocean Region, in line with the
government's vision of SAGAR.