Army chief pitches for developing domestic defence industry

New Delhi: India must fight the next war with home-made solutions, Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat said on Wednesday while strongly pitching for developing the domestic defence industry.

"We must win the next war with home-made solutions," he said at a conference on defence modernisation at FICCI.

The Army chief also underlined the need for developing an indigenous intelligence and surveillance system to keep a hawk eye vigil on the borders with China and Pakistan as well as to ensure foolproof security at military installations in the hinterland.

In this context, Gen Rawat also spoke about the Pathankot and Uri terror attacks, noting that security at military installations was becoming a matter of concern.

"Security of our installations in hinterland is becoming a cause of concern because we keep getting reports about likelihood of some attacks on the lines of Uri and Pathankot in some of our bases," the Army chief said.

He said the private sector must join hands with the government to find solutions to the needs of the security forces.

Stressing on developing the domestic defence industry, Gen Rawat said the Army was working with the private sector and academia on developing indigenous systems and platforms.

The Army chief also urged the private sector to utilise its financial resources for carrying out research and development activities, focusing on requirement of the armed forces.

India is a leading importer of arms and military platforms globally and the NDA government has listed indigenisation of defence manufacturing as a priority area.