New Delhi, May 11
In a veiled reference to the US and its allies, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today lamented that the country’s neighbours, guilty of missile and nuclear proliferation, did not attract sanctions and called for development of in-house defence and dual-use technologies, the potential of which has been graphically demonstrated in recent wars.

“Some (guilty countries) even continue to receive liberal economic assistance,” the Prime Minister said in an apparent reference to Pakistan and China.

Mr Vajpayee asserted that this was in sharp contrast to India, which had strictly exercised a self-imposed restraint on transfer of nuclear, missile and dual-use technologies and material.

“We have never received any recognition for this,” Mr Vajpayee told the country’s top defence scientists after presenting the annual Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) awards on National Technology Day, marking the 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests.

Praising the earlier laurels like development of the 700-km-range nuclear-capable Agni-I missile, the supersonic Brahmos cruise missile and light combat aircraft, the Prime Minister cautioned that the nation has to realise that these technological breakthroughs could be short-lived unless newer capacities were constantly developed in cutting-edge technologies.

“There can be no respite. War-fighting technologies are constantly being upgraded. Recent military conflicts in our neighbourhood have graphically demonstrated this. They underline the importance of overwhelming technological superiority over an adversary. Technological innovation is a continuing requirement,” he stressed.

Observing that combating terrorism effectively required specialised technical means, Mr Vajpayee said development of technologies for countering the menace should be a “priority” of defence research and development establishments.

Referring to the Pokhran nuclear tests five years ago, the Prime Minister said “it was a difficult political decision in response to the harsh realities of our security environment.

“Our tests were also a major technological achievement in the face of stringent sanctions and technology import restrictions,” he said, reminding that sanctions against India did not begin with the 1998 nuclear tests and were first imposed after the 1974 tests even though India was not party to the discriminatory non-proliferation treaty.

India had to face equally discriminatory missile technology control regimes, the Prime Minister observed and maintained that many of the sanctions of the seventies and the eighties remained in place even today.

Turning to his recent visit to Bangalore to witness the demonstration of the indigenous LCA, christened ‘Tejas’, he said “it was a major technological feat after years of trials, disappointments and doubts”.

Congratulating the awardees of the DRDO for their talent and innovative skills which had enabled the nation to achieve a significant autonomy in technological development, Mr Vajpayee asked them to constantly upgrade the scientific talent and technological skills.

Asking for developing special technologies for combating terrorism, the Prime Minister said this should be a priority for our defence research and development establishment.

The Prime Minister called upon the private industry to follow the government in offering scholarships to promising young students to study science in universities.