North Tech Symposium: Army’s ‘Make-in-India’ initiative to forge self-reliance: Lt Gen Sengupta

Srinagar, Sept 06: Lieutenant General, Anindya Sengupta, Chief of Staff, Northern Command on Wednesday said the modernization plan of the defence forces is focussed on capability development through ‘Self Reliant Defence Eco System’ following the Make-in-India pursuit.
“The Indian Army is a major participant in the ‘Make in India’ initiative to transform itself into a modern, Atmanirbhar and technology advanced force. Northern Command with its focus on Operation has itself remained at the forefront of this drive,” he said.
Lt Gen Sengupta said towards capability development of the Northern Command, a variety of weapon platforms and equipment are procured under the ambit of Army Commander’s Special Financial Powers (ACSFP) and Other Capital Procurement Procedure (OCPP).
“Additionally, major impetus has also been given to upgradation, and refurbishment of existing equipment to enhance the operational capability besides giving them a fresh lease of life. The current annual budget towards these efforts is of the order of Rs 1,000 crore and increasing,” he said.
Lt Gen Sengupta said Northern Command has also commenced reaching out to academic institutes and has started evolving problem statements towards meaningful requirement-oriented research with the academia.
“This will not only give the much-desired fillip to Indigenous Research and Devp (I R & D) but will orient these to user requisite while proudly developing the equipment indigenously,” he said.
North Tech Symposium is an annual event conducted in Northern Command since its inception in 2005.
“In its earlier Avataar, this event was organised as a combination of Equipment and Idea, Innovations Display, however, over the years it has been restructured to promote state of the art Defence Technology and encourage Athamnirbharta,” he said.
Lt Gen Sengupta said the operational and logistics challenges confronting Northern Command necessitate customised, dedicated solutions. “While Northern Command has taken big strides in the past years to bridge the gap between what we have and what we need, this year’s North Tech Symposium is a giant leap reinforcing this endeavor,” he said.
The theme of this year’s event “Synergy in Research, Development and Innovation for Modernisation of the Military” herein onwards we seek to address our “needs” through an inclusive approach, bringing the Indian Army, Defence Industry and Academia onto a collaborative platform.
He said North Tech Symposium 2023 is unique in the sense that major activities are being held at the IIT Jammu campus.
“Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM), a non-profit association, formed as the apex body of Indian Defence Industry under the umbrella of Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), has done wonders in garnering the registration of nearly 200 industry partners and 50 Start-ups for the event,” the officer said.
In a curtain raiser brief By Maj Gen SBK Singh, MGGS (Staff Duties & Capability Development), HQ Northern Command said in the recent past, imaginative and offensive exploitation of technology has challenged the status quo in the battlefield.
“In keeping with these developments, in the ensuing years, the existing and emerging technologies will fundamentally change future military operations,” he said.
Highlights of the 2023 edition of North Tech which will be held over three days 11-13 Sep 2023 will exhibit latest products by over 200 industry partners on various technologies with special encouragement to start ups.