NEW DELHI: Indian Army Chief General M K Pande on Thursday called for indigenisation of the defence equipment and ammunition.
He stressed that the geostrategic security environment has witnessed significant changes in recent times, leading to a recalibration of the established world order thus self-sufficiency is a “strategic imperative”.
Speaking at an event, General Pande said, “India’s security concerns emanate from the geopolitical dynamics at both global as well as the regional level. These include the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict as well as the instability and the political uncertainty that we see in our immediate neighbourhood.”
"Our interests are best served by being self-reliant especially in defence productions. We cannot fight and win future wars on borrowed technology," added the Army Chief while addressing the ‘AMMO India 2022’ conference, jointly organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry and the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies.
Pointing towards the recent push towards indigenization, Gen. Pande said, “Our external dependence on armaments and ammunitions has been a matter of concern and reversing of this trend in recent years has been quite encouraging.”
The contemporary security environment and changing character of war requires and mandate that our armed forces be prepared to handle a wide spectrum of challenges both in the conventional and sub-conventional domains.
Army Chief pointed to the pandemic and standoff with the Chinese PLA along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh as watershed events.
The pandemic has been a major watershed event of our time during which the global supply chains were majorly disrupted and it has set out a new normal the way we do business now, Gen. Pande said.
The period also witnessed the standoff on our northern borders and these twin conditions have adequately brought home and reinforced the fact that self-sufficiency in the defence requirements is now more than ever before, he added.
Talking about the discussions held during the two day event, the Army Chief said, “The details discussed between various stakeholders will help India in taking forward the indigenous productions of the ammunition.”