Rajnath Singh highlights the need for collaboration between Defence Forces, DRDO, academic institutions, defence public sector undertakings, private industry, including start-ups, to accelerate indigenous technology development in rapidly evolving warfare landscape.
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has emphasized the importance of close collaboration among the Defence Forces, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), academic institutions, defence public sector undertakings, private industry including start-ups to accelerate the development, adoption & continuous upgradation of indigenous technologies. This call was made during the launch of IIT Kanpur’s ‘Greater Than Us’ fundraising campaign in New Delhi on October 14, 2026.
The Defence Minister highlighted that strengthening indigenous technological capabilities is strategically crucial as artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, unmanned platforms, advanced sensors, cybersecurity and space-based technologies are reshaping military dynamics. He underscored the growing interlinkage between national security and technological capability, stressing that IITs can make a significant contribution by aligning academic research with operational defence requirements and industry needs.
Shri Rajnath Singh emphasized that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi-led Government’s ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ commitment lies at the centre of its ‘Viksit Bharat’ vision as it aims to create a technologically capable, economically competitive, innovative and confident nation, which is not just a consumer of knowledge & technology but an active contributor to their creation.
Raksha Mantri highlighted the importance of strong institutions of higher education and research in realising this vision, noting that the Government has made sustained efforts to strengthen the ecosystem, whose growing contribution to innovation and entrepreneurship is reflected in the IIT ecosystem’s support for over 6,000 start-ups, 56 unicorns and nearly 5,000 patents.
Acknowledging the initiatives undertaken in this direction, Raksha Mantri made special mention of IIT Kanpur’s DRDO-Industry-Academia Centre of Excellence and welcomed the proposal to establish a School of Defence Technologies at the Institute. He added that the proposal to set up a National Military Drone Technology Hub at IIT Kanpur, in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence to fast-track indigenisation and innovation to gain combat edge, has made significant progress and its approval process is nearing completion.
Source:
Press Information Bureau
