Akash NG missile ready to be test fired from the Integrated Test Range off Odisha coast on Friday

He made the remarks at the launch of Amity University's M Tech in Defence Technology course, its joint programme with the DRDO and the All India Council for Technical Education

NOIDA: The Union government has an ambition to create a USD 5 billion worth of defence equipment by 2025, a senior DRDO official said here on Friday, emphasising on the need for developing an ecosystem for defence research in the country.

To realise this ambition, the government has also launched several schemes to fund start-ups, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Director General (Technology Management) Hari Babu Srivastava said.

He made the remarks at the launch of Amity University's M Tech in Defence Technology course, its joint programme with the DRDO and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

"The genesis of this programme is to generate wealth for the country. All wealthy countries have rich defence ecosystems and the Indian government has the ambition to create USD 5 billion of defence equipment by 2025," Srivastava said, according to a statement.

"To achieve this, we need to increase efficiency and the number of productive people from day one, and thus, the incubation period will reduce. India needs to develop its ecosystem for defence research and have launched several schemes to fund start-ups," he said while addressing the students of the university.

He said students, after completion of this programme, can make their own research and development (R&D) start-up, adding that the "aim is to fight the next war with our weapons".

Amity Group's founder chairman Ashok K Chauhan thanked the government agencies for partnering with the private university for the program.