Need to promote innovations useful for defence, civil sectors: Rajnath

PUNE: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said that institutions need to promote innovation which is not only useful for the defence industry but also for civilian purposes.

“We need to promote such innovations in the defence sector which are not only useful for defence but also equally effective for the civil sector,” Rajnath Singh said at the 12th convocation ceremony of the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT) in Pune.

He cited examples of how the use of navigation systems was initially started for defence requirements but later on became an important part of civilian life.

“Plastic surgery is also deeply related to the defence sector. We see that many a time soldiers get injured during the war, and different parts of their bodies get damaged in an unfortunate way. For this plastic surgery is a boon which is also helping civilian life,” the Defence minister said.

Rajnath Singh said countries have to move fast towards technological advancement.

“We have to keep in mind that if our adversaries have more advanced technologies, then it can become a problem for us in the coming times. That’s why we have to move fast towards technological advancement along with the changing environment,” he said.

The minister said apart from land and air, threats can come from cyberspace and the space sector.

Concepts like non-kinetic or contactless warfare have made the need for advanced technology in the defence sector more important than ever, the minister said.

“In the last few decades, we have seen that the methods of warfare are changing at a faster rate…. The dangers of conventional war are in front of us, but going beyond them, now completely new types of threats are looming in front of us,” added Rajnath Singh.

He also touched upon the government’s Atmanirbhar push and highlighted that a huge country like India cannot depend on imports.

“If we only import defence equipment and platforms, it will make us dependent on other countries in the defence sector. This dependence can also be a hindrance to our strategic autonomy,” he said.

Rajnath Singh also met former President Pratibha Patil and personally expressed condolences to her on the demise of her spouse Dr Devisingh Shekhawat.