Defence Ministry: 5th Edition of ARTECH to be held in New Delhi
Ministry of Defence is to hold ARTECH seminar in New Delhi on 23rd December, 2019. ARTEC is Army Technology Seminar that is being held since 2016.
Highlights
The fifth edition of ARTEC is to be organized by the Indian Army under Ministry of Defence on “Technologies for Non-contact Warfare”. Speakers from diverse industries, subject matter experts, think tanks have been invited to address at the seminar.
The seminar was launched as a part of “Make in India” campaign. It is a flagship event of the Indian Army that focuses on harvesting indigenous capabilities of Defence sector.
Significance
According to Ministry of Defence, of all the three services, Indian army is least technology-intensive and more manpower intensive. The testing procedures of army are rigorous. It has only claimed handful of successful collaborations like Dhanush. There are systems like Battlefield Management System, Future Infantry Combat Vehicle and Tactical Communications system that are yet to receive a prototype. They are essential to execute military operations. BMS acts like Google map in providing information about the soldiers and their unit securely.
These seminars will help address the gaps in developing these systems.
BMS and its issue
Battlefield Management Systems is a system that integrates information to enhance command and control of a unit. The estimated amount to build the system was Rs 25 billion USD. In 2007, Rs 3.5 billion USD was sanctioned. However, the project was still lagging in developing technologies of BMS as compared to other countries. In 2018, due to lack of funds and lack of competitiveness, GoI shut down the project and is now planning to import the technology. This is because other countries are far ahead and relying on old practices will put India behind.
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Month: Current Affairs - December, 2019