New Delhi. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said that if India’s borders were more secure and clear, India would have progressed more rapidly. Doval also underlined that the country’s strength has increased rapidly in the last ten years. In his address at the Rustamji Memorial Lecture organized on the 21st installation ceremony of the Border Security Force (BSF), Doval said that if “we had more secure borders”, India’s economic progress would have been much faster.
He said, “In the near future, I don’t think our borders will be as secure as we need for rapid economic development. Therefore, the responsibility on the forces guarding the borders is very high. They have to remain vigilant 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for a long time. They have to see that our national interests and the country are safe.” The National Security Advisor said that borders are important because “they define our sovereignty”.
He said, “The occupation of the land is ours, the rest is the work of the court and the judiciary, it does not matter.” Doval said on Friday that the government has paid a lot of attention to border security in the last 10 years and during this period “our comprehensive national strength has increased a lot.” He said that India is changing rapidly and in the next ten years “we will become a ten trillion US dollar economy and the third largest economy.” Doval termed it an “important achievement”. He said that India will have one of the largest workforces and it will be a stronghold of high technology artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum computing and defense and security manufacturing sectors.
Doval said the country, which used to import arms from other countries, has exported arms worth USD 2.5 billion till March 31 and has thus emerged as a major exporter due to the government’s self-reliance and Aatmanirbhar Bharat policy.
The National Security Advisor said that in this changing India, some degree of prosperity guarantees security and increases vulnerabilities in many major areas. He said, “All these are components of national power or what the Chinese call comprehensive national power. Your economy, your geographical expanse, your geostrategic position, defense forces, technological achievements and India’s comprehensive national power will be very high.”