Wellington, October 23, 2026: Mr Banmali Agrawala, Chairman of Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) and Senior Advisor at Tata Sons, delivered a talk on “Defence Industrial Technological Base (DITB) – Atmanirbhar Bharat” at the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), Wellington, highlighting the importance of indigenous defence capabilities, technological innovation and stronger collaboration between the Armed Forces and Indian industry.
During the session, Agrawala presented an industry perspective on India’s journey towards self-reliance in defence manufacturing and technology development. He emphasised the need to strengthen the country’s Defence Industrial Technological Base to reduce dependence on external sources and enhance India’s strategic autonomy.
Addressing the gathering, he underscored the importance of leveraging cutting-edge technologies, indigenous research and development (R&D), and sustained industry collaboration to build a future-ready defence ecosystem capable of meeting the evolving operational requirements of the Indian Armed Forces.
A key focus of the discussion was the growing importance of partnerships between the defence services and domestic industries. Agrawala highlighted how closer cooperation could accelerate innovation, support the development of advanced military technologies and strengthen India’s indigenous defence manufacturing capabilities.
The talk also emphasised the role of Indian industry in supporting the government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, particularly through investments in technological development, innovation and the creation of a robust domestic defence industrial ecosystem.
The Defence Industrial Technological Base plays a crucial role in supporting national security by enabling the indigenous development, production and maintenance of military equipment and critical technologies. Strengthening this ecosystem is particularly important as modern warfare increasingly relies on advanced electronics, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems and other emerging technologies.
The interaction at DSSC Wellington provided an opportunity to examine the industry’s role in India’s defence modernisation and the importance of aligning technological innovation with the operational requirements of the Armed Forces.
The session reinforced the significance of sustained cooperation between the military, research institutions and private industry in advancing India’s long-term goal of achieving greater self-reliance in defence technology and manufacturing.
