While addressing the Combined Commanders Conference of the three services on 17 October 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “We should remember what matters is the capability of the force. When we speak of digital India, we would also like to see a Digital Armed Force”. He asked the services to give serious thought to upgrade technological skills for effective projection of power by men. The PM also said that domination of space will become increasingly important. “Control of space may become as critical as that of land, air and sea. Full scale wars may become rare, but force will remain an instrument of deterrence and influencing behavior, and the duration of conflicts will be shorter,” he said.
This is perhaps the first time ever that such a senior politician has recognized the technological shortfalls that the Indian Armed Forces have suffered in the last few years and has asked the armed forces to ensure modernization especially in the cyber domain. What the prime minister’s statement will now ensure is that the cutting edge of the Indian Armed Forces will get technologically upgraded to face the challenges of a digitized battle field. With the ‘Make in India’ program gaining impetus, now is the right time for the Indian Defense Industry to invest into battle field cutting edge technology manufacturing units and cyber warfare capabilities. It would be a win–win situation, both for the armed forces as well as the industry.