India's security can't be outsourced: Army chief

September 15, 2022 17:03

Army chief General Manoj Pande on Thursday said India's dependence on imported technologies for defence has emerged as a "strategic vulnerability", and stressed the need for self-sufficiency in the sector, saying country's security can neither be outsourced nor be dependent on the largesse of others.

"Hostile and nuclear-armed neighbours and developments on the country's borders with China have reinforced the need to maintain modern, agile and technologically empowered armed forces at all times," he said while highlighting the need to possess modern technological capabilities.

In his video message addressed to the students of Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT) Nagpur on the occasion of its 20th convocation, Gen Pande also said that India's security environment is defined by a combination of legacy challenges of disputed borders and emerging threats in new domains of cyber, space and the electromagnetic spectrum.

"India has hostile, nuclear-armed neighbours and an unstable neighbourhood. Developments on our northern borders with China over the past two years, including the clash at Galwan, have reinforced the need to maintain modern, agile and technologically empowered armed forces at all times. Our dependence on imported technologies for defence and security has emerged as a strategic vulnerability," he said.

"Today's security is founded on technological prowess. There is no country willing to share the latest, state of art technologies, he said. The security of the nation can neither be outsourced, nor be dependent on the largesse of others. Self sufficiency in critical technologies is a strategic imperative that can no longer be ignored," the Chief of the Army Staff said.

"Within a short period, an entire ecosystem of start-ups supporting the defence industry has come up in the country. This a very reassuring development, through which the vision of 'atmanirbharta' (self-sufficiency) will soon be a reality. There is a long way to go, but we are moving steadily on the right track," he said. -- PTI

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