HOW GOVERNMENT AND CITIZENS CAN PAVE INDIA'S WAY TO ESTABLISH MILITARY SUPREMACY!!!

Disclaimer:- Well, this article is the opinion of a country's patriot to its countryman. They may be correct or incorrect, but as we celebrate the 74th Republic Day, the feeling of oneness and seeing our country held high and strong in the world prevails over anything.

Introduction

On the eve of Republic Day, as our soldiers march on the 'Kartavya Path' and India displays its military and technological capabilities to the world. Every Indian present across the globe feels proud about how far our country has come since independence, but as we feel proud and ecstatic about our achievements we should also be sceptical about preserving and growing it further and for this, one of the most important things to work upon, both by the government and citizens of India is on strengthening the military of India.

If you look closely at India's economic conditions, we still have to deal with high poverty and unemployment rate. Many prominent scholars and social workers are against the idea of spending such large amounts of the government's budget on defence rather we should spend a major chunk of that amount improving poverty and unemployment condition in the country. To some extent, I do agree with their view on improving poverty and unemployment condition in our country but not at the expense of our country's defence. Their arguments hold in an ideal scenario where there is peace and harmony in the world but looking at the current global scenario where power projection is only your defence. The stronger you are, the more peaceful you will be.

Why Do We Need A Strong Military?

To help you all understand the necessity of a strong military, I would like to quote the 34th President of the United States of America, Dwight D. Eisenhower who said, "Military power serves the cause of security by making prohibitive the cost of any aggressive attack. It serves the cause of peace by holding up a shield behind which the patient constructive work of peace can go on." A live example of this quote is the USA itself, no country in the whole world would dare to even think of attacking the USA. This thought in itself makes the USA work peacefully on its technological capabilities and scientific advancements to grow economically, which in turn benefits the citizens of the USA.

Similarly, as India is poised for a rapid economic expansion in 'Azaadi ka Amritkaal,' it is a necessity that India needs to strive to become a military superpower because it can serve as a deterrent against potential adversaries, project power and influence in international affairs, protect economic interests, respond to natural disasters and humanitarian crises, and be a leader in the international arena, and in peacekeeping operations, it also enhances the country's reputation and its ability to play a leading role in the international arena.

Contribution In Making Our Military Strong

To achieve military supremacy, we need the contribution of every stakeholder i.e right from the governments, giant corporations, manufacturers, and investors to soldiers, citizens and especially the visionary youth of this country.

Constant Increase In Military Budget

The first step which can have a large-scale impact on our military strength is simply increasing our military budget. Though this step has its economic constraint, as our economy increases, we should prioritize increased allocation to the defence budget because despite India being the third highest defence spender in the whole world. If you look closely, more than half of our budget goes to salaries and pensions of military personnel, so any increase in defence allocation should be prioritized towards modernization and research and development of weapons and equipment.

Serious Threats Of Defence Equipment Imports

Historically modernization of weapons and equipment of the military meant importing high-tech equipment from other countries right from complex air defence systems (S-400) and aircraft (Rafale) to basic bulletproof jackets for our army personnel we imported everything. Well, importing defence equipment is not a bad thing it gives us access to advanced technology, which might take years for us to develop. Importing can instantly enhance our self-defence capabilities and help us meet any urgent need quickly but the problem with importing is that it is a drug which makes us comfortable, which makes us forget that there is also a need to develop an indigenous supply chain of defence equipment.?

We become so comfortable that "Kuch bhi chaiye rahega toh manga lenge bahar se" becomes our call to action in every scenario. This very attitude makes us dependent on imported defence equipment, and mind you not just equipment but also dependent on the countries supplying the equipment. Currently, India's defence is import dependent. Apart from this, we experience a lack of control over technology which can limit our ability to customize or adapt the equipment to our needs at our will. We have limited influence on the production process, which can affect the quality and reliability of the equipment. We also face the problem of limited ability to upgrade or maintain the equipment and the security concern of the equipment getting hacked or intercepted or the risk of sensitive technology or information falling into the wrong hands. All these things make a perfect recipe for a disaster during a doomsday scenario.

India's Defence Manufacturing Capabilities

Off lately with change in government stance and to boost the 'Make in India' initiative to become?'Atmanirbhar Bharat' we are currently developing our manufacturing capabilities, and I have no doubt that we will not only fulfil our requirements rather we will also export from these manufacturing units because in past we had already done it. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History, Volume 2, says: "During World War 2, India produced more than 50 kinds of arms and ammunition and supplied 75% of its wartime requirements." We are capable of producing in mass, be it anything.

Need Of Enhanced Research And Development

If manufacturing foreign defence equipment gives us such an edge, imagine where we will stand when it's our technology, our innovation in our factories, our honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has eloquently expressed in words during NIIO (Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organization) seminar 'Swavlamban' 2022. He said " Humare paas Samarth hai, humare paas talent nahi hai aisa nahi hai ji, aur yeh bhi budhimaani nahi hai ki duniya main dus logo ke paas jo auzaar hai wohi auzaar leke main mere jawaan ko maidaan main utar doo. Ho sakta hai uski talent acchi hogi, training acchi hogi toh uss auzaar ka shayad jyaada accha istemaal karke nikal jaayega. Lekin main yeh kabtak risk lete rahunga jo auzaar jo hathiaar samne wale ke haath main hai waisa hi hathiaar leke mera naujawan kyu jaayega? uske paas woh hoga jo samne wale ne socha tak nahi hoga woh hoga jisko samjhne ke pehele hi samne wale ka khatma hogaya hoga." Currently, we are progressing very slowly in R&D, this is even visible in the government allocation to R&D in the budget but in this, we shouldn't be only dependent on government spending on R&D rather we should seek Larger private investment, especially from Big investors and giant corporations who have a large amount of cash pile. This private funding can foster innovation and would give rise to many entrepreneurs, which the country deserves.

Startups And Future Technology in Defence Industry

Currently, 1000+ startups are working on drones, anti-tank mines, missiles etc. We need to strive to increase this number exponentially.

Our Visionary and tech-enthusiastic youth, along with the support of our strong IT service industry, can work on domains like Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Security industry. We should enhance our capabilities in these future technologies of the defence industry as old-school warfare would become obsolete and new cyber warfare will be at the forefront. With such a large IT service base it won't be good to see India lagging in this race.

Apart from technological advancements, researchers should also work on scientific progress in material sciences where-in our defence expansion is sustainable.

Conclusion

In the end, I would like to conclude that if we all move in this direction, be it slow or fast, one day we will achieve military supremacy. By the time, we celebrate our 100th Republic day and our soldiers march on 'Kartavya Path', the world should look at a military power displaying its strength and fearlessness. This feat can only be achieved when each citizen of our country contributes with his or her abilities. There are only a few privileged individuals who get a chance to become soldiers and serve their 'Bharat Mata' directly but everyone here is not privileged so we need to find out a different way of serving our nation.?

If you are a tech guy, then provide support to the Cyber, AI or internet infrastructure of the country if you are an Investor, then come forward and invest in new startups about defence. Large corporations earn so much profit that they have large cash pile-ups, which they can invest in R&D in their own company or other organizations to create a holistic environment for scientific growth which creates new inventions and innovation in the defence industry. Finally, I know the article is too big and doesn't include any industry-level analysis or stock research but if you believe in India becoming a military superpower, then its way must be through domestic manufacturing units, research facilities and IT services. Investors and entrepreneurs can actively find opportunities in this field.