SP Guide Publications is synonymous with zero-compromise quality and steadfast commitment towards the services. In tune with this philosophy, SP’s took yet another step in its 45th year by supporting the recently held C4I2 event as the presenting sponsor. A two-day summit was organised by TV18 network. Catch the telecast on CNBC TV18!
The Defence Minister Shri AK Antony has urged the private sector to enter the defence industry. Stressing on the need for indigenisation, particularly in the defence sector, Shri Antony said it was imperative for a country like India’s size and economy to have a vibrant defence industry.
"Given the fact that India is emerging as a major economic player, this is certainly not a desirable state of affairs,” Shri Antony said in an address to seminar on ‘Command, Control, Computers, Communication, Intelligence and Information (C4I2) structures here today. "Though our country has a massive industrial infrastructure, we are still a long way from establishing ourselves as a major defence equipment manufacturing nation. Much of the content of our defence requirement continues to be imported," he added.
The government has undertaken several policy decisions to correct this imbalance and seeks to promote private-public partnerships, Shri Antony said. The government has allowed 26 percent FDI in the defence sector and the offset policy is aimed at encouraging technology inflows and enhance the capability of our defence industrial base, he added.
The Defence Minister said the private sector’s IT prowess could be harnessed for the requirements of the armed forces. “Our country’s demonstrated abilities in the field of information technologies should be leveraged towards this objective,” Shri Antony said. “The ability to process information and respond rapidly to changes in conflict situations can make all the difference between success or failure,” he added.
The two day seminar organised by TV18 provided a platform for brainstorming between armed forces personnel, DRDO, Ministry of defence officials , defence equipment manufacturers and related industry professionals from both private and public sectors. The inaugural session was also addressed by Admiral Sureesh Mehta Chief of Naval staff, General Deepak Kapoor Chief of Army Staff, Air Marshal S C Mukul, CISC, IDS and Dr. Sreehari Rao, CC R&D (ECS) DRDO. The gathering was welcomed by Senthil Chengalvarayan, President TV18. A vote of thanks was delivered by Jayant Baranwal, Chairman S P Guide Publications. Mr. Farhad Wadia, CEO E-18 thanked everyone during his closing remarks.
Spanning the two days all matters related to the C4I2 were discussed in five sessions . Some of the prominent speakers were Dr. Johan Leander SAAB Technologies, Col. Patric Koh Lai Hawk SAP Asia, Dr. Vivek Lall Country Head , Boeing IDS, Ashwani Kumar Dutt CMD BEL, SN Tandon, VP C4I Rolta India, Dr. V S Mahalingam, Director , Centre for Artificial Inteligence & Robotics , DRDO and Lt. Gen. J P Singh DCIDS, HQ IDS.
Some of the topics discussed during the seminar were India's network enabled capabilities, C4I2-integration and developement, understanding operational requirements of the three services, developement of public private partnership, data fusion for C4I and composite intelligence services.
