Engineers should evince interest in defence research, says NITI Aayog member

NITI Aayog's Vijay Kumar Saraswat urges engineers to engage in defence research as India boosts its defence budget for global competitiveness.

Scientist and NITI Aayog member Vijay Kumar Saraswat on Friday said that the Central government had significantly increased the allocation for the defence sector in the Union Budget to ensure that India’s defence capabilities remain globally competitive.

Speaking at ‘Defence Science Conclave’ organised by the NRI Institute of Technology and Pharmacy, Vijayawada, in collaboration with the Academy for Science, Technology and Communication (ASTC), Hyderabad, to commemorate the legacies of former Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister and architect of India’s Defence R&D Infrastructure Suri Bhagavantam and former President of India A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Mr. Saraswat encouraged the engineering students to take a keen interest in defence research and contribute to strengthening the nation’s security framework.

“Defence science today is a highly multidisciplinary field,” he said, recalling that before 1947, India’s defence manufacturing facilities were established by the British primarily to support their war efforts during the Second World War.

“While weapons and equipment were supplied from the UK, ordnance factories in India were set up to handle repairs, maintenance, and supply-chain support for these imported systems,” he said.

He said immediately after Independence, India faced an undeclared war with Pakistan over Jammu and Kashmir. “Although the conflict was not formally declared, India successfully defended and retained the territory. This experience made it clear that the nation needed to develop the capability to fight future wars using indigenously developed equipment and technology,” he said.

The first Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru, recognising this strategic necessity, envisioned a scientific organisation similar to the United Kingdom’s defence research structure and with guidance from his close associate Patrick Blackett, the Scientific Adviser to the British Government, initiated the establishment of India’s defence research framework, he recalled.