NEW DELHI: Technology-driven warfare is redefining national security and India must remain ahead of the technology curve to secure its strategic interests, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh said on Thursday.
Addressing senior officers at the National Defence College, Singh said the convergence of artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, biotechnology and space capabilities would shape the future security landscape as warfare shifted increasingly from conventional combat to hi-tech strategic operations.
"Future military systems will increasingly rely on autonomous platforms, intelligent surveillance, predictive analytics, cognitive warfare capabilities and hyper-fast decision-making mechanisms," he said.
Referring to the changing nature of warfare, Singh said that modern conflicts are increasingly being determined by technological superiority rather than physical force alone.
He said recent military operations across the world have demonstrated the decisive role of advanced technologies, particularly in the domains of space, communications, surveillance, precision systems and strategic decision-making.
He added that India’s growing indigenous technological capabilities have significantly strengthened the country’s defence preparedness and enhanced its global standing.
Singh said India's defence production has risen nearly 174 per cent since 2014 to approximately 1.54 lakh crore rupees, while defence exports has expanded nearly 34-fold to more than 23,000 crore rupees, with the private sector accounting for a substantial share of those exports.
He pointed to India's 2023 National Quantum Mission as evidence of the country's commitment to quantum-secure communications and post-quantum cryptography, describing rapid deployment of such networks as essential for protecting critical military infrastructure.
The minister called for deeper integration across government, industry, academia and startups, saying public-private partnerships would be critical to converting scientific breakthroughs into deployable solutions.
More than 16,000 MSMEs and hundreds of startups are currently engaged in defence production and technology development, he said.