Amid ongoing tariff tensions with the U.S. and a recent easing in India-China relations, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said that in global geopolitics, “there are no permanent friends or enemies, only permanent interests.”
The relations between New Delhi and Washington are on a downturn after US President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to a whopping 50 per cent, including a 25 per cent additional duty for India’s purchase of Russian crude oil.
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Rajnath Singh was speaking at the NDTV Defence Summit 2025, where he noted India’s commitment to “aatmanirbharta” or self-reliance in defence. He stressed that India’s defence infrastructure must not rely on unpredictable “foreign interference” and should instead be built on the nation’s own capabilities, as reported by PTI.
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He also stressed the government aims to implement the proposed Sudarshan Chakra air defence system within the next decade, to provide comprehensive aerial security for all critical installations across the country.
Singh said the government plans to provide complete aerial security to all important installations across the country under the proposed Sudarshan Chakra air defence system within the next 10 years.
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“As we saw during Operation Sindoor, the importance of air defence capability in today’s wars has increased to a great extent. In such a scenario, the Sudarshan Chakra mission will certainly prove to be a game changer,” he said.
Singh said the shifting geopolitics has also made it clear that external dependency in the field of defence is no longer an option. “In the current situation, self-reliance is essential for both our economy and our security,” he said.
In his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the ambitious air defence project. The announcement came days after Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir reportedly hinted at targeting Indian assets along the border in case of any future military confrontation between the two countries.
India’s Sudarshan Chakra mission
Earlier on August 26, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan said that India’s proposed air defence system — Sudarshan Chakra — will entail a colossal amount of integration of sensors, missiles, surveillance apparatus and artificial intelligence tools.
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The Chief of Defence Staff said the air defence system will work as “a shield and a sword’, and suggested it will be on the lines of Israel’s Iron Dome all-weather air defence system, known as a very effective missile shield.
“Operation Sindoor was a modern conflict from which we learned several lessons, and most of them are under implementation, some have been implemented,” he noted.
The project is scheduled for completion by 2035.
(With inputs from NDTV, PTI)
