New Delhi: We have to intensify war against forces posing a challenge to India's interests from within and abroad, Prime Minister Narendra Modi exhorted on Monday adding that threats to national security have now become widespread and the methods of warfare are changing.
He was addressing Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation seminar 'Swavlamban' here.
"We have to intensify our war against forces challenging India's self-confidence, our self-reliance. As India is establishing itself on the global stage, there are constant attacks through misinformation, disinformation and propaganda. The forces that are harming India's interests, whether in the country or abroad, have to be thwarted in their every effort," he said.
National defence is no longer limited to borders, but is much broader, therefore it is equally necessary to make every citizen aware about it, the Prime Minister added.
"As we are moving forward with the 'whole of the government' approach for a self-reliant India, Similarly, the 'whole of the nation' approach is the need of the hour for the defence of the nation," he said.
"Earlier we used to imagine our defence only till land, sea and sky. Now the circle is moving towards space, moving towards cyberspace, moving towards economic, social space," he added.
In such a scenario, the Prime Minister said that we have to move anticipating the future challenges and change ourselves accordingly.
The goal of self-reliance in the Indian defence forces is very important for 21st century India, he said.
"When India is celebrating Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the launching of 75 indigenous technologies is the stepping stone towards our goal of building self reliance in defence... By the time India celebrates 100 years of independence, our defence should reach unprecedented heights," he said.
The Prime Minister lamented that during the initial decades of the Independence, there was no focus on the development of defence production and research and development was severely limited due it being restricted to the government sector.
During the seminar, Prime Minister also unveiled 'SPRINT Challenges’ which are aimed at giving a boost to usage of indigenous technology in the Indian Navy.
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