‘From chips to ships’: Rajnath Singh bats for self-reliant defence ecosystem

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said India must strengthen domestic defence manufacturing capabilities and achieve greater control over critical technologies to attain strategic autonomy in an increasingly complex global security environmentAddressing the NDTV Defence Summit 2026 here Singh said the countrys approach was guided by a simple philosophy of producing domestically whatever could be made within India instead of relying on importsldquoFrom chips to ships from screws to complete weapon systems this will take India to strategic autonomyrdquo he said underlining the importance of indigenous design innovation and adaptation across the defence sectorThe minister said Indiarsquos ability to manufacture and control key components of the defence supply chain would play a critical role in enhancing national security and reducing dependence on overseas vendorsAccording to him longterm defence preparedness would require mastery over critical technologies and greater selfreliance across the manufacturing ecosystemHighlighting recent policy measures Singh said the government had undertaken structural and transformative reforms to strengthen the domestic defence industry helping the sector gain significant momentum in recent yearsldquoWe are not limited to meeting current needs we are selfreliant and future orientedrdquo he saidDrawing a comparison with the evolution of the telecommunications sector from 2G to 5G technologies Singh said warfare had also entered a fifthgeneration phase where advanced technologies would increasingly shape military capabilities and outcomesHe noted that artificial intelligence quantum technologies robotics autonomous systems and cybersecurity were becoming integral parts of modern warfareSingh said India was actively promoting indigenous quantum technologies while simultaneously strengthening the policy framework required to support emerging defence innovationsThe Defence Minister added that India was enhancing its capabilities for contact and noncontact warfare as well as kinetic and nonkinetic military operations while diversifying critical energy resources required for national securityAccording to Singh future battlefields would extend across multiple domains and become increasingly technologydriven Countries that secure an advantage in cuttingedge technologies would be better positioned to deal with evolving security challenges and maintain superiority in modern conflicts he saidThe minister also praised the role of Indias youth in driving technological innovation He said young Indians were working on artificial intelligence drone technologies robotics quantum computing cybersecurity solutions and autonomous systems contributing to the countrys future defence preparednessldquoIndias youth are no longer just preparing for future jobs They are preparing technology for Indias future warsrdquo Singh saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever