30 April 2022: Fortifying India's Defence (E)
Science and technology have played a crucial role in the growth and transformation of the nation over the last 75 years. While the green revolution has made the nation self-sufficient in food grain production and visionary infrastructural developments have made it an industrial powerhouse, the technological advancements and indigenisation in the defence sector has helped India in making a place for itself among its global contemporaries. But the Security challenges that the nation faces today are complex as the very nature of warfare is undergoing rapid changes due to smart weapon systems from drones to hypersonic missiles. From maintaining a constant vigil on the country’s borders, to combating terrorist strikes or insurgencies the Indian armed forces are committed to the defence of the country. Territorial disputes with neighbouring nations require India’s armed forces to remain alert and deployed along the long borders round the years. India has the 2nd largest defence force in the world with a strength of over 14 lakhs active personnel and has the third-largest annual defence budget of Rs. 5.25 lakh crores behind only USA and China. But despite huge manpower and military budgets, India is still among the largest importers of defence equipment in the world, and imports around 60% of its high-tech defence hardware from countries like Russia, Israel, United States. The Government of India, has demonstrated its commitment towards the development of indigenous defence manufacturing capabilities by launching and promoting the ‘Make in India’ initiative in the defence sector. The Defence Research & Development Organisation, DRDO is tasked with designing, developing and producing cutting edge technologies that make our armed forces indomitable not only in the battlefield but also in the minds of our adversaries. So in this episode we will take a look at India’s journey of design, development and manufacturing of indigenous and advanced warfare systems. We will also talk about various domains of defence applications like LIGHT COMBAT AIRCRAFT Tejas in Aeronautics, the ‘Main Battle Tank Arjun’ in Combat Vehicles, supersonic cruise Missile ‘Brahmos’, Armaments and RADAR systems and how they are all enhancing the comprehensive national power and strengthening national security of the country. This and much more in this episode of science for a self reliant India, only on India Science.
