Sitharaman urges scientists to prioritise indigenisation

New Delhi: Defence minister Nirmala Sitharamam on Monday urged the scientific community to focus on indigenisation and make it a top priority.

Speaking on the occasion of the DRDO awards ceremony, the minister reiterated on indigenisation in the backdrop of the fact that India is one of the biggest buyer of weapons. She underscored that manufacturing cannot continuously and constantly be with borrowed technology and hence that is where the state-run DRDO’s research and development plays a very critical role.

According to the latest report of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released this month, India continued to be the largest weapons importer in the world over the last five years during which period the country’s overall imports rose 24 per cent, accounting for about 12 per cent of all global imports.