Yunus Dar

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 playin