Rajnath Singh: Cos investing in emerging tech today will be leaders of tomorrow

New Delhi: Defence minister Rajnath Singh has urged companies to invest in new and emerging technologies, saying that a nation that possesses its own technology holds the power to shape its own future.

Speaking at a DRDO-Industry meeting on Tuesday, the minister also announced initiatives to lower technical and financial barriers for deep-tech startups and smaller companies, incubation support and access to testing and certification facilities. “Companies that invest in new and emerging technologies today will become the leaders of tomorrow, as in future warfare, the country that leads in technology will secure the strategic advantage,” he said.

A standardised framework for sharing DRDO-developed software source codes with industry was also launched to accelerate software-defined defence capabilities and obsolescence management. Besides, nine Licensing Agreements for Transfer of Technology were handed over to 13 manufacturing partners.

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Singh said collaboration between industry and DRDO should no longer be limited to production alone, but should be expanded across the entire value chain, encompassing research, design, testing, certification and manufacturing.