Come up with ideas, products: Rajnath to defence stakeholders

Defence Minster Rajnath Singh on Tuesday exhorted defence industry stakeholders and innovators to come up with new ideas and translate them into products, so that the armed forces would feel that they were incomplete without these equipment. In his address at Navy-hosted seminar 'Swavlamban 2024', he also asserted that the government's concerted efforts have not only reduced import dependency and ensured public and private sectors to work together for 'aatmanirbharta' in defence, it has also resulted in the emergence of science, technology, innovation and self-reliance as a "revolutionary idea" throughout the country.
Singh was of the view that the idea of innovation and self-reliance has "blossomed", and the government's efforts have awakened this consciousness among the youth, the defence ministry said in a statement. The third edition of Acing Development of Innovative Technologies with iDEX (ADITI 3.0) challenge and 13th edition of Defence India Start-up Challenges (DISC 13) were unveiled by him during the seminar at Bharat Mandapam in new Delhi. These challenges aim to advance indigenous defence technologies and operational efficiencies.
Singh congratulated the winners for their innovative solutions to the challenges given by the armed forces, terming their feats as "extraordinary".He highlighted the self-reliance efforts being made by the government, saying the changes brought about in the last few years have created an innovative culture in India, keeping the national security in mind. "There was a time when we had become so dependent on imports for arms and equipment that innovative ideas could never take birth. Even if there were ideas, there was no system to execute them.
The defence minister described the Indian Navy as an innovative navy, and praised its efforts towards achieving self-reliance.The defence PSUs are moving rapidly towards achieving the goal of self-reliance. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited recently achieved the status of 'Maharatna' by increasing its capacity."I am quite satisfied with the performance of our DPSUs. I appeal to our DPSUs and the private sector to continuously achieve new heights on the strength of 'continuous innovation'," he said. Singh also felicitated iDEX winners and hackathon awardees on the occasion.