Stressing higher spending on research and development (R&D), Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said on Friday that Operation Sindoor served as a reality check for the armed forces by pointing out the areas where we can do better, where we need to adapt to the changing needs of nuclear warfare.Speaking to media persons on the sidelines of the Defence Tech 2025 Seminar – STRIDE (Synergy of Technology, Research, Industry & Defence Ecosystem) at the RSAMI, Pune, Singh said that currently, just 0.66 per cent of the GDP is spent on R&D, and two-thirds of this is done through the public sector, like the Defence Research and Development Organisation.
“We cannot move ahead in the defence sector without R&D. We need to change the current situation as the private sector has negligible contribution in this field,” he said, adding that the government has decided to share 25 per cent of the Technology Development Fund (TDF) of the DRDO with the private sector and also created a Rs 1 lakh crore research fund under department of science and technology.