Defence secy calls for balancing India’s soft power with hard power
Speaking at the inaugural session of the STRIDE 2025 seminar in Pune on Friday, Singh stressed the need for a transformative push in India’s defence preparedness through technology, innovation and public-private collaboration.
Pune: Amid a rapidly shifting global order marked by rising populism and protectionism, defence secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh has called for a robust augmentation of India’s hard power capabilities to complement its soft power strength. Speaking at the inaugural session of the STRIDE 2025 seminar in Pune on Friday, Singh stressed the need for a transformative push in India’s defence preparedness through technology, innovation and public-private collaboration.
The seminar, organised by the Southern Command at the army mess in Khadki, brought together senior military leaders, veterans, defence officials, industry representatives, and academicians under the theme, ‘Atmanirbharta through Partnership - Industry, Academia, Armed Forces’.
Delivering the keynote address, Singh underscored the urgent need to realign India’s defence ecosystem with the realities of a more fragmented and competitive global landscape. “The world is no longer governed by multilateralism or trade liberalism,” he said. “Countries are rearming, nationalism is resurging, and soft power without credible hard power is proving insufficient.”
He argued that India must sharpen its hard power capabilities - military strength, defence manufacturing, and technological edge to “punch according to our weight” in global geopolitics.
Linking national security with economic policy, Singh said India’s ambition to grow from a $4 trillion economy to a $30 trillion one by 2047 must be matched by the growth of its defence industrial base. He informed that during 2024-25, the ministry of defence signed contracts worth ₹2 lakh crore, the highest ever. And, in the current fiscal year, the ministry has already finalised ₹1.5 lakh crore worth of contracts.
Singh further said India’s defence exports have grown 30-fold over the past 15 years because of relaxed FDI norms, including provisions for 100% foreign ownership in select sectors. To further dismantle vestiges of the permit-raj, he announced the end of exclusive rights held by PSUs in sectors like munitions, paving the way for greater private sector participation.
In a notable departure from traditional thinking, Singh questioned the continued emphasis on big-ticket items like manned fighter jets and large warships in an age of low-cost drones and autonomous systems. “Technology is not just changing warfare; it’s changing the entire defence business,” he stressed. “Legacy platforms may no longer offer a competitive edge.”
Singh cited global examples, including NASA’s shift toward private players like SpaceX, as models for India to emulate in developing dual-use technologies for both military and civilian applications. “The era of disruptive technologies demands speed and agility,” Singh said. “We need to end legacy entitlements and open doors to private sector and start-ups.”
