Nearly 100% of procurement in 2023 and in future will be through indigenous industries, Amy Chief General Manoj Pande

The Army Design Bureau (ADB) is looking at close to 350 design and development as well as research and development projects with the help of about 450 industries, including the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which will involve a cost of about ₹1.8 lakh crore, Army Chief General Manoj Pande said on Monday.

This way, he pointed out, nearly 100 per cent of Army’s procurements last year and in the future are going to be through the indigenous route. General Pande’s assertion comes after he told reporters at the annual press conference on January 11 that Indian Army will observe 2024 as the “Year of Technology Absorption” as it’s trying to gradually mature into a modern force build on indigenously made weapons and systems. Even at the Republic Day parade, the Indian Army demonstrated domestically made weapon systems like LCH Prachand chopper made by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), Pinaka rocket launchers, and Nag anti-tank missiles.

“As of date, the Army Design Bureau is looking at close to 350 design and development as well as research and development projects in which they are engaging with about 450 industries, including the DRDO. In terms of the cost, it comes to about ₹1.8 lakh crore. This is what the Army Design Bureau is doing. So, in a way, for the Army, nearly 100 pc of our procurements in the last year and in the future are going to be through the indigenous route,” the Army Chief said.

He also talked about the ‘Made-in-India’ weapon system deployed at the western and northern borders. “I mentioned infantry protected mobility vehicles or protected wheeled vehicles, which give you both protection as well as high mobility to deal with any such situation. We also have drones and UAVs of different types,” General Manoj Pande said.

“We are in the final stages of Quantum Computing trials and once that happens, we will have better secure communication through the Quantum Computing encryption and technology,” the General added.

The Army Chief observed that “One of the important lessons from the pandemic and Russia-Ukraine conflict is the need for us to become self-reliant and reduce our import dependency to near zero. Added to this, we want to leverage innovation potential as well as a vibrant start-up ecosystem in the country.”