Indian Army chief for indigenization of weapons
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
New Delhi, May 26, IRNA -- General N C Vij, chief of staff of the Indian Army, advocated indigenization of weapons so that "India does not have to look over its shoulders when the chips are down." According to an IRNA reporter, Gen Vij, while delivering the inaugural address at the two-day seminar on `Info-structure for Network-Centric Warfare` organized jointly by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and the Corps of Signals held at Army Headquarters, here on Tuesday said that modern warfare was galloping and India could not afford to lag behind. If equipment produced domestically is 80-90 percent as good as those of developed countries, they would be preferred to those produced abroad, he added. "It is important to have the requisite resources to rally back in times of emergency and not depend on the goodwill and mercy of other countries," he remarked. The Indian Army chief of staff was confident that with the kind of technological base in India, the user and the provider, if both work in tandem, would be able to produce world-class, network- centric weapons. He said that modern-day warfare has undergone a sea of changes over the last 50 years. The focus is now more on optimization of the use of computers and communication networks, but the road ahead for the Indian industry is not easy, he added. However, he was of the firm view that with the kind of technological capabilities India has at its disposal, it will be able to reach the desired standards. In his address, Ajay Prasad, India`s defense secretary, said that new military doctrines which are in place will have to be met with new technology doctrines. He said that India must develop new war-fighting capabilities, and stressed the need to develop indigenous security algorithms. However, Prasad said that network-centric warfare requires a certain amount of investment and that it was important that more investment was pumped into the development of network-centric warfares. The defense secretary stressed on increased digitization, data protocol and indigenization of new systems. Allaying industry concerns, the defense secretary said that the much sought after offset policy is in the process of formalization, and assured the industry that the ministry was keen to formulate and address issues raised by the industry. Talking on the IBSA initiative of India, Brazil and South Africa, he said that the three countries have identified each other`s strengths which now have to be synergized for their mutual benefit. He said the recent IBSA initiative will boost private investment. In his keynote address, Lt Gen Davinder Kumar, signal officer-in- charge of Army Headquarters, said that if India were to be ready for network-centric warfare, certain issues need to be addressed. He said issues pertaining to national information security including threat perception, critical minimum infrastructure, legal procedures, awareness, training and research need to be addressed. Lt Gen Kumar said that if India was to move on from a developing country to a developed one, there was a need to take some major strategic initiatives. He said industry should collaborate in the areas of cryptology, chip technology, Indian operating systems, global positioning system (GPS), cyber warfare and technologies on info assurance to protect networks and data bases. He further said that in the scenario of network-centric warfare, it is essential that all the facets of networking synergize seamlessly, and he said this is an area where the industry can contribute and be an effective partner in the conception, design and development of the components of networking. He said that in order to make network-centric warfare a reality in India, a technical coordination authority at the national level would probably have to be established. The body could comprise members from the defense forces that will recommend and oversee both the development of info-structure related technologies in the country and their functioning in a synergized manner, he added. 2160/LS/210
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