Threats to national security had become more widespread & methods of warfare were changing, he said

National defence is no longer limited to the borders, but is much broader now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday as he warned of new dangers to the country.

The threats to national security had become widespread and the methods of warfare were also changing, he said.

The Prime Minister was addressing the Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) Seminar 'Swavlamban'. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was also present.

"Earlier we used to imagine our defence only till land, sea and sky. Now the circle is moving towards space, moving towards cyberspace, moving towards economic, social space," he said. In such a scenario, we have to move anticipating the future challenges and change ourselves accordingly, he added.

Self-reliance will help the country a great deal in this regard, Prime Minister Modi argued. “We have to intensify our war against forces challenging India's self-confidence, our self-reliance," he asserted.

"As India is establishing itself on the global stage, there are constant attacks through misinformation, disinformation and false publicity. Keeping faith, the forces that are harming India's interests, whether in the country or abroad, have to be thwarted in their every effort. Therefore, it is equally necessary to make every citizen aware about it" he said.

'GOAL OF SELF-RELIANCE VERY IMPORTANT '

The goal of self-reliance in the Indian defence forces is very important for the India of the 21st century, Prime Minister Modi said.

Referring specifically to the role of the Indian Navy, he said it was continuously increasing and therefore self-reliance of the Navy was of critical importance.

“We have to work to continuously increase the number of indigenous technologies. Your goal should be that when India celebrates 100 years of its independence, at that time our Navy should be at an unprecedented height," Prime Minister Modi said.

During the event, PM Modi also unveiled the collaborative project 'SPRINT' (Supporting Pole-Vaulting in R&D through iDEX, NIIO & TDAC) aimed at giving a boost to the usage of indigenous technology in the Defence sector.

NIIO, in conjunction with the Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO), aims to induct at least 75 new indigenous technologies/products into the Indian Navy.

In his address, the Prime Minister pointed out that a self-reliant defence system was critical for the economy and also from the strategic point of view. He added that the country has worked in mission mode to reduce this dependence after 2014.

The Prime Minister said defence imports had come down by about 21 per cent in the last 4-5 years.

"Today we are moving fast from the biggest defence importer to a big exporter. Last year, 13 thousand crore rupees worth of defence export was done with more than 70 percent of which being from the private sector, he pointed out.

“Innovation is critical and it has to be indigenous. Imported goods can’t be a source of innovation”, he said.

Defence R&D had been opened for the private sector, academia, MSMEs and start-ups, Prime Minister Modi said. This has led to a new speed in long pending defence projects, the Prime Minister added, expressing the confidence that the wait for commissioning of the first indigenous aircraft carrier would be over soon.