'If India can advance in technology, it can become superpower'

INDIAN defence minister Rajnath Singh on Friday (27) said if India makes advancement in technology, it can become a superpower.

The veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said this while addressing students and teachers at the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT) in Pune in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. DIAT is a deemed university of India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under its defence ministry.

“Some initiatives have been started by the defence ministry to make progress in research and innovation through collective efforts from armed forces, industries and academia and it can happen only through mutual understanding and by sharing knowledge and best practices,” Singh, 71, said.

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He also said that the defence ministry has set up a platform called ‘iDEX’ (innovation for defence excellence) to engage and attract new talent and get field experience and inputs from the armed forces personnel from the field.

He also added that the central government has allocated Rs 1,000 crore (£99 million) for iDEX. Besides, the government has also provided Rs 500 crore (£50 million) to encourage research and innovation in aerospace and defence by backing 300 start-ups, Singh added.

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Talking about his recent visit to Nagpur in Maharashtra and giving an example of successful delivery of one lakh hand grenades by a private player to the Indian Army in less than five months, the defence minister said the firm had exported similar hand grenades to Indonesia at a higher cost.

“My point is that if we achieve advancement in technology, India can become a superpower. It can become a super economic power,” Singh said.