Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi unveiled the ‘SPRINT Challenges’ to promote the use of indigenous technologies in the Indian Navy during the Naval Innovation and Indigenization Organization (NIIO) seminar ‘Swavlamban’ in New Delhi on July 18, 2022. In an effort to achieve the ‘Aatmanirbharta ‘ in defense and as part of ‘Azadika Amrit Mahotsav’, NIIO in association with Defense Innovation Organization (DIO) aims to introduce at least 75 new indigenous technologies/products to the Indian Navy. This joint project is called SPRINT {Promoting Pole Vaulting in Research and Development through Innovation for Defense Excellence (iDEX), NIIO and Technology Development Acceleration Cell (TDAC).
Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister said that the goal of self-reliance in the Indian Defense Forces is very important for India in the 21st century. The holding of the first ‘Swavlamban’ (self-reliance) seminar for the independent navy is an important step in this direction. The Prime Minister said that the resolution to create 75 indigenous technologies in this period of taking new resolutions for India is inspiring in itself and expressed confidence that it will be fulfilled very soon. “We have to work on constantly increasing the number of home technologies. Your aim should be that when India celebrates 100 years of its independence, by that time our navy should be at an unprecedented level,” he added.
Referring to the importance of oceans and coastlines in the Indian economy, Shri Narendra Modi said that the role of the Indian Navy is constantly growing and hence its self-sufficiency is extremely important. Recalling the country’s illustrious naval tradition, the Prime Minister said that India’s defense sector used to be very strong even before independence. At the time of independence, there were 18 armament factories in the country, where many types of military equipment including artillery weapons were manufactured in the country. India was an important supplier of defense 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 we became the world’s largest importer in this field at one point?” he asked. He said that like the countries that took advantage of the challenges of the world war and became major arms exporters, India also turned adversity into opportunity during the Corona period and made strides in economy, manufacturing and science. He lamented that during the first decades of independence there was no focus on the development of defense production and research and development was severely limited as it was confined to the government sector. “Innovation is critical and must be homegrown. Imported goods cannot be a source of innovation,” he said. He also emphasized the need to change the way of thinking about the attractiveness of imported goods.
Shri Narendra Modi emphasized that a self-sustaining defense system is critical for the economy as well as from a strategic point of view. He said the country has been working in mission mode to reduce this dependency after 2014. He noted that the government has given new strength to our public sector defense companies by organizing them in various sectors. Today, we are making sure that we link our premier institutions like the IITs with defense research and innovation. “We are learning from the approach of past decades and today we are developing a new defense ecosystem with the power of everyone’s efforts. Today, defense R&D has been opened up to the private sector, academia, SMEs and start-ups,” he added. This has led to new speed in long-pending defense projects and the Prime Minister has expressed confidence that the wait for the first home-grown aircraft carrier to be commissioned will soon be over.
The Prime Minister noted that in the last eight years, the government has not only increased the defense budget, “we have also ensured that this budget is useful for the development of the defense manufacturing ecosystem in the country itself. Today, a large part of the budget allocated for the purchase of defense equipment is spent on purchasing from Indian companies. He also supplemented the defense forces in preparing a list of 300 items that will not be imported.In the last 4-5 years, Shri Narendra Modi said that the defense industry imports have declined by about 21 percent. Today, we are rapidly moving from being the largest importer of defense to a major exporter. Defense exports worth Rs 13,000 crore took place last year, of which more than 70 per cent were from the private sector, he pointed out.
The prime minister noted that now the threats to national security have also expanded, and the ways of waging war are also changing. Previously, we imagined our defenses only to land, sea and sky. Now the circle is moving towards space, towards cyberspace, towards economic, social space. In such a scenario, the Prime Minister said we need to move anticipating future challenges and change accordingly. Self-reliance will greatly help the country in this regard, he said.
The prime minister warned of a new danger. He said, “We must also intensify our war against the forces that challenge India’s self-confidence, our self-reliance. As India establishes itself on the global stage, there are constant attacks through misinformation, disinformation and false publicity etc. To keep the faith, the forces that harm India’s interests, whether at home or abroad, must be thwarted in their every effort. National defense is no longer limited to borders, but is much broader. Hence it is equally necessary for every citizen to know about it.” He continued, “as we move forward with a ‘whole of government’ approach for a self-reliant India, similarly a ‘whole of nation’ approach is a must for the nation’s defence. This collective national consciousness of the diverse people of India is a strong foundation for security and prosperity,” concluded the Prime Minister.
In his address, Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh defined innovation and indigenization as important components that are essential for strong and long-term collaboration between the armed forces, industry, R&D institutions and academia. This cooperation is necessary to achieve ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defense and the overall objective of safety, security and holistic development of the nation, he said. Shri Rajnath Singh praised the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ and likened it to the Swadeshi movement of Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi. Asserting that the ‘New India’ is taking giant strides towards self-reliance with renewed determination, he exuded confidence that “soon we will end our dependence on imports and touch new heights. Raksha Mantri pointed out that as the nation celebrates ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, a new dimension of ‘self-reliance’ has been added to the definition of freedom. “Not only have we achieved self-sufficiency in food grain, but we are one of its main exporting countries. Vaccines made in India save lives around the world. Our spaceship launches satellites of other countries into space. Today, India is not only self-sufficient in many sectors but also caters to the needs of other countries,” he said.
Shri Rajnath Singh emphasized that self-reliance does not only mean overcoming economic constraints but also achieving decision-making autonomy for the country by overcoming diplomatic constraints. “The efforts towards self-reliance in the defense sector under the leadership of the Prime Minister have changed the image of India and we will soon become a global manufacturing hub,” he said& commended the Indian Navy for playing a pioneering role in this effort by making remarkable progress in the surface, sub-surface and air domains; establish an “in-house ship design organization” and transform from a “navy of buyers” to a “navy of builders”. Describing the ever-increasing indigenous content in warships as proof of the Indian Navy’s unwavering commitment to ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, he said it was a matter of great pride for the nation that shipyards and industry were jointly developing the capacity and capabilities of the armed forces.
Shri Rajnath Singh informed the Prime Minister that in line with the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ campaign, the Indian Navy spent over 64% of its capital budget on domestic procurement in the last financial year and it is expected to increase to 70% in the current financial year. year. With the active participation of the private sector, SMEs and start-ups, innovations in the defense sector are supported through several projects under the iDEX initiative and the “Technology Development Fund”. Raksha Mantri emphasized that through these efforts, the Indian Navy has developed the necessary capabilities not only to protect India’s maritime interests but also its friendly countries in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of “Security and Growth for All in the Region” (SAGAR). Raksha Mantri was of the view that the Indian Navy’s role will further grow in the Indian Ocean and Indo-Pacific region in the times to come. He expressed confidence that the Indian Navy is ready to deal with any situation and will prove its mettle at all times whenever required& urged 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 determination to achieve self-sufficiency not only in the defense sector, but in all areas and to ensure sustainable development.
Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Ajay Bhatt, Defense Minister Dr Ajay Kumar, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral SN Ghormade and President Defense Manufacturers Society of India Shri SP Shukla were among those present at the event. opportunity. The two-day seminar, to be held on July 18-19, 2022, aims to engage Indian industry and academia to achieve self-sufficiency in the defense sector. It will provide a platform for leaders from industry, academia, services and government to come together on a common platform to design and come up with recommendations for the defense sector. There will be sessions devoted to innovation, indigenization, armaments and aviation. The second day of the seminar will witness an outreach to the Indian Ocean region in line with the government’s SAGAR vision.
