• Rajnath Singh calls for India to lead in advanced technologies.
• Defence Minister stresses indigenous NDT capabilities and quality assurance.
• AI, robotics and digital twins to transform inspection technologies.
• Over 2,000 participants attend the NDT conference in Hyderabad.

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 15th Nov: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has called on India to become a developer, innovator and global leader in advanced technologies, stressing that defence technology self-reliance is essential for national security and preparedness.

Virtually addressing the 36th Annual Conference on Non-Destructive Evaluation and Enabling Technologies and the 15th International Symposium on Non-Destructive Testing in Aerospace on Sunday, Singh called for stronger indigenous capabilities in advanced inspection technologies, specialised sensors, evaluation equipment and software.

He said reliable testing results and consistent quality assurance practices are critical to strengthening India’s Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) ecosystem. There can be no compromise on the accuracy and integrity of test results in strategic applications, he added.

Explaining the importance of NDT, Singh said these technologies help examine materials, components and structures without damaging them. As defence systems become more sophisticated, every critical component and manufacturing process must meet the highest standards of quality and reliability.

He warned that hidden defects can affect equipment availability, increase maintenance requirements and, in critical situations, jeopardise mission success. He called for moving beyond simply identifying defects to preventing them through quality checks at every stage of manufacturing.

The Defence Minister said quality and reliability are central to national security, particularly in strategic platforms such as missiles, aircraft, naval systems and spacecraft. He described defence self-reliance as a strategic necessity rather than merely an economic objective.

Highlighting India’s progress in missile development, naval platforms, aerospace engineering and radar systems, Singh cited the commissioning of the country’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, as an important milestone in the Aatmanirbhar Bharat journey.

He also pointed to initiatives such as Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) and the Technology Development Fund (TDF), which support innovation, experimentation and technology development within the defence ecosystem.

Singh stressed that emerging technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, robotics, advanced sensors, digital twins and predictive analytics, are transforming inspection and structural health monitoring. He urged Indian institutions and industries to develop indigenous solutions suited to the country’s strategic and industrial needs.

Calling for closer coordination among government, industry, academia and research laboratories, he said investment in research, advanced equipment and skilled manpower would help strengthen domestic capabilities and create opportunities in international markets.

The three-day conference, organised by the Indian Society for Non-Destructive Testing in Hyderabad, has brought together more than 2,000 professionals, researchers, industry experts and students to discuss developments in inspection and evaluation technologies.