Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has underscored the need for a “technologically advanced” military to counter the “double threats” at the border, an apparent reference to tensions with neighboring China and Pakistan.
“Today we are one of the largest armed forces in the world. The bravery and valour of our military is praised all over the world. Countries across the world express their willingness to conduct joint exercises with our armed forces. In such a situation, it becomes imperative that we have a technologically-advanced military to protect the interests of the country," Singh said in his keynote address to the Defence, Research and Development Organization (DRDO)-academic conference in New Delhi.
"For a country like India, it becomes very important because we are facing double threat on our borders,” he added.
India is embroiled in a military standoff with China in the eastern Ladakh region since April-May 2020. On the other hand, the Line of Control (LoC), the de-facto border between India and Pakistan, as well as the International Border (IB) has witnessed heavy military deployments for over seven decades now.
DRDO-Academia Partnership
The DRDO is the country’s top research institution under the Ministry of Defence, with a stated goal of developing new military technologies to meet India’s defense needs.
According to a defence ministry statement, the two-day conference on the theme of “DRDO-Academia Partnership - Opportunities & Challenges” is aimed at acting as an “interface” between the Indian government agency and the academia.
Over 350 scientists and scholars are attending the event.
“It is a dire need that the DRDO and academia work in partnership with each other to find solutions to the challenges being faced by us in the 21st century. This partnership will prove helpful in making India a leading nation in defence technologies,” the Defence Minister remarked.
The minister noted that Indian universities could offer a skilled manpower pool for the DRDO, while Indian research scholars could derive benefits from the DRDO’s R&D fund, its advanced infrastructure and the lab facilities.
Singh noted that the benefits of increased collaboration between the DRDO and premier Indian institutions such as the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Indian Institute of Technology (IITs), National Institute of Technology (NITs), as well as other universities, would prove to be beneficial for the entire country and not only the military.
He went on to highlight that the new technologies developed as a result of these partnerships could have civil as well as military applications.