India's defence capabilities grew substantially in the last 10 years: Mr. VK Saraswat

A member of NITI Aayog and former chief of the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), Mr. VK Saraswat, highlighted significant advancements in India's defence capabilities under the Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi government. He noted a shift towards indigenous production, with arms imports now limited to immediate needs or technologies beyond domestic capabilities. Major corporate entities like the Adani Group, Tata Group, and L&T are actively manufacturing indigenous defence equipment, signalling a robust indigenous defence ecosystem.

Despite a recent report by the Swedish think tank SIPRI identifying India as the world's top arms importer, He stressed a declining ratio of imports relative to overall defence needs. He reassured that India's installed power capacity of around 452 gigawatts is sufficient to meet the nation's power requirements, minimizing the risk of major power cuts during the upcoming summer despite ongoing heatwaves in parts of the country.

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