Defence Minister’s Address at Foundation day Celebrations of IDSA
	14:49 IST

Following is the full text of Defence Minister Shri AK Antony’s address at 42nd Foundation Day Celebrations of Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses held in New Delhi today:- “I am happy to be present amidst you at the 42nd Foundation Day of the Institute. At the very outset, I wish to congratulate the Institute for successfully completing over four decades of service to the nation. IDSA was set up to provide inputs on security-related and strategic issues of national and international importance. Till now, it has performed its task admirably. Today, India has firmly established itself on the centre-stage of international politics. In such a scenario, the responsibility on you will no doubt increase manifold. Technology is changing at an unbelievable speed. As a result, the transmission of information takes place at light speed. The challenge therefore, to keep pace with these technological changes is more pronounced than ever before. The choice before us is clear – to either let the events shape us, or enhance our ability to shape the events. Our collective endeavour must be to shape the events – to the maximum possible extent. With our growing stature, the need of the hour is to develop stronger defence capabilities to safeguard our interests. As a prominent regional player, we will be called upon to play an increasingly significant role in ensuring peace and stability in our immediate as well as extended neighbourhood and in the Asian region. We have to ensure that our security apparatus is well-equipped to deal with various challenges effectively. Our security forces face several challenges. Though traditional threats do exist, there are little chances of a conventional war breaking out. However, there may be scattered incidents of localized skirmishes, border incursions, civil strife, maritime or other potential threats. Besides traditional threats, there are the unconventional threats. Terrorism with its global networks, financing and support from various quarters is one such challenge. Increasingly, terrorism is being outsourced to local criminals and miscreants to hide the real source of its origin. Insurgents supported by external forces, propagating extremist ideologies result in irregular, but long-drawn out warfare. The changes in technology have given rise to ‘disruptive threats’ - of what is known as cyber warfare. A few nations are believed to be providing training to a large numbers of ‘hackers’ to attack highly intricate and networked systems. The aim of these cyber attacks is to disrupt functioning of government agencies, gain illegal access to sensitive information and break into banking systems. Disruption could also be caused by extreme weather conditions and demographic changes. Climate change could also lead to disasters of unimaginable proportions – as was the case during the Tsunami that struck in 2004. At present, the security agencies are not fully structured to deal with such disruptive challenges effectively. Such crisis situations demand quick and effective responses. The need of the hour is to devise integrated strategies for better assessments, contingency planning and making long-term forecasts. In the days and years to come, we need to be better prepared to deal with the challenge posed by Weapons of Mass Destruction. These weapons could be nuclear, radiological, biological and even chemical. The access of terrorists to such technologies and materials could make the situation worse. The changing dynamics of the security situation call for eternal vigil and a continuous review and reform of the country’s security apparatus. The need of the hour is to undertake specialized research into evolving geo-political developments, Inter-State relations and monitor and analyse the latest developments in our neighbourhood. At the same time, we must not lose sight of the long-term global trends, security challenges and continue to modernise defence technologies, re-evaluate policies and organisational structures needed to counter various challenges effectively. However, increasing costs of new technologies and equipment require that we meet our requirements indigenously and to gradually eliminate our reliance on foreign assistance. Increased transparency and fairness in all defence-related expenditures would prove to be cost-effective in the long run. It must be our firm resolve and commitment to enforce the principle of ‘Zero Tolerance’ to corruption in meeting our defence requirements. IDSA has played an important role in enhancing security awareness and strategic thinking over the years. However, a lot more still needs to be done. You must keep track of the latest changes in research methodologies and constantly update your knowledge of security related issues – both national and international. It must be our collective endeavour to ensure that India remains at the forefront of the ‘Knowledge Revolution’ that will shape nations and societies in the future. You must take good care of the available physical infrastructure and make optimum use of available human resource for the tasks ahead. I once again congratulate all of you for the Foundation Day. I hope that you will continue to strive to make more meaningful contribution to security-related issues and take your organization to greater heights. DM/PK