Prayagraj, May 4 (IANS). Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said the government has kept defense research at the center of its priorities and the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has so far transferred 2,200 technologies to various industries.
Addressing defense personnel, industry representatives, innovators and startups at the inaugural session of the three-day ‘North Tech Symposium’ organized by the Northern and Central Commands of the Indian Army and the Society of Indian Defense Manufacturers, the Minister said that to be future ready in the rapidly changing technological world, it is extremely important to continuously focus on research and maintain the ‘surprise element’.
He said that 25 per cent of the Defense Research and Development (R&D) budget has been allocated to industry, academic institutions and startups and so far these institutions have utilized more than Rs 4,500 crore from this budget.
Highlighting the rapid pace of technological change in modern warfare, he said that the nature of war is now changing rapidly and “surprise elements are emerging which were not even imagined before.”
Giving an example, he said that in the Russia-Ukraine war, within just three-four years, the nature of war changed from tanks and missiles to drones and sensor-based. At the same time, everyday things are also turning into deadly weapons. Pager attacks in Lebanon and Syria have forced a rethink of modern warfare methods. In such a situation, we have to be prepared for every situation.
The Defense Minister further said that the country will have to develop such capabilities so that if needed, unexpected attacks can be made on the enemies.
He said that a new ‘Technology Transfer Policy’ has been implemented, under which the earlier 20 percent fee has been completely abolished for development-cum-production partners, development partners and production agencies.
The minister also said that DRDO has initiated a policy of making its patents available to Indian industries free of cost, which will strengthen both their technological capability and global competitiveness. In addition, DRDO’s testing facilities have also been opened to industry on a fee basis, which are used by hundreds of companies every year for research and development.
He said that the government will provide full support to the industries to move forward in areas like Directed Energy Weapons, Hypersonic Weapons, Underwater Domain Awareness, Space Situational Awareness, Quantum Technology, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.
Rajnath Singh described ‘Operation Sindoor’ as an excellent example of technological warfare and the country’s preparedness, saying that state-of-the-art indigenous equipment was used in it, which included advanced missiles like Akashtir, Akash Missile System and BrahMos.
He said that the government’s efforts towards self-reliance are yielding positive results. The country’s defense production has reached a record level of Rs 1.54 lakh crore in the financial year 2025-26, while defense exports have also reached an all-time high of Rs 38,424 crore.
Referring to the steps taken by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government to strengthen the defense sector, the Union Minister said that initiatives like ‘Innovations for Defense Excellence (IDEX),’ Accelerating Development of Innovative Technologies with IDEX (ADITI)’ and ‘Technology Development Fund (TDF)’ are playing an important role in promoting innovation and increasing private sector participation.
On this occasion, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Central Command, Lieutenant General Anindya Sengupta and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command, Lieutenant General Prateek Sharma also addressed the gathering.
–IANS
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