India should be prepared to tackle challenges like cyber warfare, climate change: President Murmu

Udhagamandalam: India should be prepared to tackle any situation in a fast changing geopolitical environment, including national security challenges like cyber warfare and terrorism, President Droupadi Murmu said here on Thursday.

Also, she stressed the need to develop a deep understanding of national and global scenarios as the geopolitical dynamics have changed the security landscape.

"The issue of climate change is acquiring a new dimension which needs to be understood and managed. Latest cutting edge technology needs to be applied. I am confident that our armed personnel officers will rise to the future challenges," the President said in her address at the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, in Nilgiris district.

"In a fast changing geopolitical environment, we need to be prepared to tackle any situation," Murmu said.

"Geopolitical dynamics have changed the security landscape and there's a need to develop a deep understanding of national and global situations. We not only have to secure our national interest but also prepare for new national security challenges like cyber warfare and terrorism," the President said.

India, she said, was rising and the world was acknowledging the country’s role in various sectors, including defence. The country was moving towards indigenisation and self-reliance to keep the armed forces to meet the needs and challenges.

India was being developed as a major defence manufacturing hub and was moving towards a reliable defence partner and a defence exporter. "India's defence industry is rapidly adopting the latest technology and is moving ahead in line with the vision (of Prime Minister Narendra Modi) of Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant)," the President said.

India's defence companies have set a new benchmark, and through those firms, the country exported defence equipment to more than a hundred nations. India's defence exports grew by 30 times over the past decade, and the Make in India programme played a major role in this development, the President said.