85% of Indian Army purchases are "Indian": Army Staff Chief
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Gandhinagar: Chief of Army Staff General M M Naravane said on Saturday that 85% of purchases made by the Indian Army are "Indian". In the latest Defence Budget, 25 per cent is allocated for private investment, which is the first of its kind by the Indian government. Sixty-eight per cent of what the Defence buys, including Army, Navy and Airforce — the orders will go to indigenous companies, and the Army is far ahead of this target, he said. Addressing students at the inaugural function of the 'Ahmedabad Design Week 3.0', themed 'Design and Innovation in Defence and Aerospace', at Karnavati University in Gandhinagar, he said that the Amry is on developing indigenous infantry combat vehicles, an armoured personnel carrier, and is in the pursuit of cheaper ways to supply ware and power to the forward areas, The Indian Express reported.
The General said that the weapons need a new unique design as some, like battle tanks, are from the age of World War I.
He asked the University students to take part in a challenge to design combat vehicles that would be relevant for another 50 years. He said that indigenous defence items would have uniqueness and surprise elements, quoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
India has to spend bulk in transporting water and power to forward areas. To provide one unit of electricity in the forward areas, India has to expend 15 times the costs of peace, he said. Therefore, Defence needs alternative methods for fossil fuels.
He said that the future of Defence is in miniaturisation. The forces will need to use the minimum space possible to carry a maximum number of features.
He cited Kodak, Nokia and HMT to surmise that if we do not change and innovate, we will be left in history. "Change is exponential, and wars and conflicts have been harbingers of this change," he said. He added that there would be a fusion of civilian and military in developments to take place.
Further, he said that the Army design Bureau would act as a facilitator between the designers and the Army. Under the Innovation for Defence Excellence (iDEX) and Technology Development Fund of DRDO, financial assistance will be given to start-ups and MSME, he said.
According to him, the Army has 26 projects in iDEX at the moment, and it is helping 33 start-ups. Some have started giving results, and some are under trials, which includes see-through armours, drone jammers, unmanned surface vehicles, image analytics and vital ammunition.