The Minister of State for Defence Dr Subhash Bhamre has said that the quest for indigenisation must be the foremost concern of any organisation as it is even more important in Defence sector as it leads to self-reliance which is critical to national security.

Inaugurating a seminar on ‘Indigenous Technological Empowerment of the Indian Army’, here Dr Bhamre stated that significance of indigenisation must be fully absorbed by all stakeholders and must implement ‘Make in India’ in all future acquisition programmes. He appreciated that the Indian Army has not only organised a series of initiatives towards this objective, but also created the Army Design Bureau, which is a unique organisation to facilitate interaction and seek participation of the Indian industry and the academic community. Commenting that technology has permeated into all facets of daily existence, he said its relevance in warfare is most critical and always the side with access to better technologies will always win. “True self-reliance in Defence, therefore will flow out of fully homegrown technology”, he said.

The Chief of the Army Staff General Bipin Rawat said that the Army has encouraged the academia and the industry in the country to come and understand the requirements with regard to equipment that is needed by the Army. The Secretary General, FICCI Dr Sanjaya Baru, CMD Bharat Forge Ltd Baba N Kalyani and Lt General Subrata Saha (Retd) also spoke on the occasion.