NEW DELHI: India still imports 60 per cent of its defence requirement and has not been able to develop a proper rifle for its armed forces, Vice President Hamid Ansari said today, bemoaning the Government’s “inadequate” push for research and development.
Ansari’s comments come after an indigenously built rifle “miserably failed” the firing tests conducted by the Army, which is seeking a replacement for the ageing INSAS model.
The vice president also said the India devotes only 0.9 per cent of its GDP for scientific research, compared to 2 per cent by China and 2.8 and 4.6 per cent by Germany and Israel respectively.
The number of PhDs in the pure sciences in the country is “abysmally low” and India is “far behind” in the fast-changing world, he said, and questioned why this had gone unattended by several Governments.
“The Governmental effort into the R&D is inadequate. After 70 years of independence, we still import 60 per cent of our defence requirements…Not kitchen requirements (but) defence requirements,” Ansari said. (AGENCIES)
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