Official Transcript: Defence Minister's Address At Indian Navy Armaments Exhibition
Dated 19/7/2007
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Following is the text of the Defence Minister Shri A K Antony's address at International Seminar and Exhibition on Naval Armaments held here today.
"I am happy to be amidst you to inaugurate this Seminar on naval armaments. Its timing is of particular relevance, in view of the ever increasing importance of maritime security, coupled with advances in armament technology and changing strategic calculus, it is imperative for us to have a lean and thin, yet a modern and well-equipped Navy. I am sure the Seminar will evolve a comprehensive strategy to deal with all the threats and challenges posed to us in this regard.
A nation derives its power from a variety of factors - its geographical position, its economic strength, its administration or political system, its military and its people. While many strategists have defined and identified these parameters separately, they are closely interlinked. India is presently undergoing a major transformation and emerging as a formidable power - both in economic and political sense of the term.
However, our emergence as an economic power and a major political player has placed onerous responsibilities on us. While we scale greater heights, our profile and strategy faces challenges on three fronts - the globalisation process in the new economic technological order, acquiring strategic-technological strengths and the vision of enhanced military prowess.
Since the beginning of the 1990s, there has been a stupendous growth in the industrial and core sectors. Foreign firms are now increasingly looking at India as an attractive investment destination and for more cost-effective production. Global players are outsourcing work orders to Indian companies, benefiting from the high degree of skills and cost effectiveness prevalent in our country.
Prior to the 1990s, the Government of India had placed the production of defence items in the reserve list, making it mandatory for production to be taken up only by the public sector. However, our effort now is to provide opportunities to industries in the private sector as well to participate actively in production of defence items. We want the private sector to come forward and become partners to PSUs in their endeavour to help the nation attain a high degree of self-reliance in defence preparedness. Our core strengths have reached a high level of development and we now need to focus on developing high technology areas.
The global defence industry has undergone profound changes in recent years. The demand for military weapons and equipment, allocation of resources, national and international priorities of major states and several other factors have affected the defence industry in many ways. Our strategic planners are looking for newer strategies to ensure that our nation meets challenges effectively to sustain future requirements. A strong and healthy partnership between the public and private sector will be critical in maximising our defence capability and in creating a powerful domestic industrial base for the future.
The ‘Offset Clause ‘in the defence procurement policy would definitely leverage India’s position as a promoter of a vibrant and proactive defence Industry. Simultaneously, I would like the Armed Forces to ensure that all available infrastructure and resources are utilized judiciously and optimally.
Though our self reliance drive has made some progress, much more needs to be done to minimise the gap between technology and our needs.
The Indian Navy has been a catalyst in the development and building of warships. Today, India is one of the major warship design and manufacturing nations in the world and our indigenous warships have made their presence felt across the globe. The Indian Navy’s vision of an indigenous and self reliant armament and weapon system provides a challenge and an opportunity for Indian Industry.
Indigenous armament development is a major area of concern. The Industry must, as part of their evolution and national development, focus on research, development and production of armaments and weapon systems keeping in view the issues of quality, safety, reliability, and maintainability factors. A synergy needs to be built up between the Services, DRDO and Indian industry for putting in place an independent, competitive and market oriented research.
I would like to see the private sector in India gearing up for a long term commitment and be far-sighted, not only in adopting advanced military technologies, but also developing their own. The private sector needs to combine its strengths and develop knowledge in defence technology to overcome shortcomings and help our nation to compete at international levels and not merely look at the domestic market I am sure NAVARMS 07 will be looking into the various aspects of the defence production and the needs, as well as the underlying concerns of the services. I wish the Indian Navy and CII all success. I hope that the deliberations would help us develop effective strategies towards achieving self-reliance in defence production."
