Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday called upon Indian defence manufacturers to create a culture of quality in production, terming it as a prerequisite to compete in the international market.

Addressing the plenary session of DRDO Quality Conclave on the theme ‘Quality Odyssey for Self Reliance in Defence Products’ here, Rajnath Singh stated that only quality products create global demand, and it will help in realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of making India a global manufacturing hub and a net defence exporter.

Singh pointed out that those countries, which manufacture quality products, export their equipment to countries across the globe. He added that due to the good quality, the prices of these platforms are quite high; but it should be kept in mind that importing countries are ready to pay even the highest prices for state-of-the-art products.

Stressing that top-quality products bring credibility to the domestic defence industry, he stated that manufacturing such equipment within the country would generate increased global demand and bolster India’s reputation in the international market. He also underscored the importance of cost control while manufacturing quality defence products.

“Cost control should be given utmost importance; however it should not be at the expense of quality. We have to be globally cost-competitive, but it has to be done by remaining in the top-quality segment. We must move forward with this idea,” said the minister. He underscored the need to manufacture high-quality military systems which are effective, reliable and safe and can enable the armed forces to accomplish the missions successfully.

Speaking on the occasion, Secretary, Department of Defence and Chairman – DRDO Samir V Kamat reaffirmed DRDO’s commitment towards delivering quality systems. He requested all stakeholders to have firm resolve and synergise towards self-reliance in high-quality indigenous military systems.

The conclave provided an opportunity to the stakeholders to network with experts to create an ecosystem in the country for producing high-quality indigenous systems, and implementation of standards, policies and global best practices.