Focus on research to make India global leader in defence technologies: Rajnath Singh

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday urged the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) officials to focus on research work in order to make India a global leader in the defence sector.

"We will have to focus on research work to emerge as the global leader in defence technologies. And for this, it is important to improve continuously in order to maintain operational superiority," Singh said at the 41st DRDO Directors Conference here.

The Union Defence Minister was joined by the chiefs of the three services and DRDO Chairman G Satheesh Reddy at the inauguration of the two-day conference.

Urging the DRDO officials, Singh said that the time is right for India to become self-reliant in the field of critical defence technologies.

"It is also the right time to decrease our dependence on imported systems and create an indigenous innovation ecosystem, to be completely self-reliant in the field of critical technologies," Singh said.

Singh began his address by paying a tribute to the late former President APJ Abdul Kalam for his service to the nation and urging others to follow the path shown by him.

"I express my gratitude to Dr APJ Abdul Kalam on his 88th birth anniversary. He was an acknowledged scientist. His contribution to research and missile development brought India to the top list of countries which are nuclear-capable and are known for their indigenous capabilities," Singh said.

"I would urge all the people present here and those of the DRDO community to follow the work ethos of Dr Kalam. We all should work together to fulfill his dream of making India a developed nation," Singh added.

The Defence Minister also thanked the chiefs of three services by saying, "The speeches of the three chiefs were very educative for me as I got to know of new ideas and suggestions from them.