The Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen. Manoj Mukund Naravane stressed on the need to bolster research and development (R&D) in the defence sector to encourage greater indigenisation of defence equipment. Speaking at the ‘Army Make Projects – 2019’ organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), Lt Gen. Naravane said the lack of R&D in the defence industries sector was the main reason behind India’s dependency on imports.

Speaking at the seminar attended by top army officials and defence industry representatives, he said, “I know R&D is not easy, and uncertain return on investment or when will it fructify, it is difficult to tell. But, unless we think of R&D, think of our future requirements, we would always be playing catch up, and if we are always playing catch up, then we will always be dependent on imports from abroad. So, that is the area we need to focus on and try to become self-reliant.”