NEW DELHI: Exhorting defence scientists to accelerate research and development work, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday stated that the “battlefield of tomorrow will reward those who can shorten the time between an idea, a prototype and operational deployment.”
Rajnath Singh Stresses on Speed and Jointness
Addressing the defence strategic dialogue Kalam & Kavach 3.0 via a video message, Rajnath Singh emphasized that “a nation’s strength will increasingly depend on how quickly its defence forces, labs, and industries think and act as one.” He underscored the importance of self-reliance and jointness to secure strategic autonomy and remain future-ready for emerging security challenges.
“National security demands our preparedness, resilience, innovation, and strategic confidence,” he said. The minister described self-reliance as not only an economic goal but also a strategic necessity, asserting that a nation excessively dependent on others for critical defence capabilities remains vulnerable in times of crisis.
Defence Exports and Production Soar
In the presence of Italian and Armenian envoys at the event, Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth told foreign delegates that India firmly believes global security and progress are strengthened through cooperation, trust, and shared innovation. He highlighted that India’s defence exports, which were a meagre Rs 686 crore a decade ago, have skyrocketed to a record high of Rs 38,424 crore today. Annual defence production has touched an all-time high of Rs 1.54 lakh crore in the financial year 2025-26, reaffirming the government’s resolve to achieve the target of Rs 50,000 crore in defence exports and Rs 3 lakh crore in defence production by 2029-30.
Operation Sindoor and Theatreisation
Discussing Operation Sindoor at a special session, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan said the Indian armed forces “dominated the escalation matrix on all four days” of the conflict. On the 'JAI' triad (jointness, atmanirbharta, and innovation), the CDS noted that efforts towards planned theatreisation have been made with enhanced “scale and speed,” as India lags behind other countries by 10-15 years that have already implemented such structures.
“These joint structures, which we are trying to create, would be one of the most transformative reforms that India would be undertaking... Our model was slightly different. Some people had to introduce legislation, it was a top-down kind of approach. I tried to work through consensus. Consensus was taking everyone along,” he said.
