New Delhi: India will not only make substantial progress towards self-reliance in defence sector but it will also become a major player in the field of defence exports, said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday while attending the virtual launch of Indian Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO).

Singh further said that it is the vision of the Prime Minister who has been guiding the efforts.

The NIIO aims to put in place dedicated structures for the end-users to interact with academia and industry towards fostering innovation and indigenisation, RMO (Office of the Raksha Mantri) India tweeted.

"This joint initiative of INDIAN NAVY, UPEIDA, 'Raksha Shakti University' and 'Maker village' will give a new direction, a new dimension to defence indigenisation and innovation. The Prime Minister has shown the path of 'Self-reliant India' to turn 'disaster into opportunity'. Innovation and Indigenisation will play an important role in this effort. On the basis of these, the foundation of self-reliance in defence can be laid," read another RMO tweet.

We know that all stakeholders must work together step by step to achieve the objective of self-reliance in defence. Cooperation, coordination and new partnerships will be important for this.

"End users need to work closely with educational and industry for products that meet their needs. I am happy to see that the Indian Navy is taking initiative in this direction. First of all, I am told that the MoUs that are being signed today are with educational, universities-linked incubation centres, industrial bodies and defence industrial corridor," said Singh.

"At another level, it is also a collaboration between the central government and state government. There is also a collaboration between The entities with which MoUs are going to be signed today have contributed significantly to the respective state governments, such as the governments of UP, Gujarat and Kerala. This is a good example of Cooperative Federalism," he added.

Singh continued saying that for a strong and self-reliant India, end-users will have to take steps to bring various stakeholders together. The role of the Navy as a single user gets bigger. It is also actually the role of a partner, a facilitator, a coordinator and in some cases a mentor.

"Uttar Pradesh Defence Corridor has accepted this challenge under UPEIDA and we will see results very soon. You must be aware that a bill has been introduced in the parliament, by which 'Raksha Shakti University' will be given the status of a central university," said Singh.

The Indian Navy has always been at the forefront of indigenization. Now we need to concentrate on the 'fight' component, the Defence Minister stated.

"I am glad that structures are being built to move in this direction," he added.

"The Indian Navy has also been at the forefront of indigenization efforts with active support from DRDO, educational institutions, DPSUs and private industries. The first indigenous warship - INS Nilgiri - was built in India more than five decades ago," said Singh.