New Delhi, Mar27: Army Chief General Manoj Pande on Wednesday emphasised self-reliance in military production, stating that it is important that the country is able to source sustenance equipment like ammunition indigenously and develops its own capabilities and adequate thrust is being laid in this direction.

Speaking at the Times Now Summit, General Pande said the country's import dependency "should be near zero".

"It will be a strategic imperative in the future to be self-reliant. It is important that we are able to source sustenance equipment like ammunition indigenously. Even technology, if we import we will always remain one cycle behind. It is important to develop our own capabilities and adequate emphasis is being done. Our import dependencies need to be near zero," he said.

"Exercise Bharat Shakti in Pokhran was to demonstrate the ongoing efforts towards capability development through Atmanirbharta. We were able to demonstrate the robustness of our indigenous systems," he added.

General Pande also highlighted the ongoing advancements in use of technology in wars.

"Conventional combat will no longer determine victory in future - niche critical tech, unmanned weapons are out of the conventional domain. It is important how efficient we are in leveraging from the technology within our country and those available commercially."

The Army Chief said the lesson learnt from the various conflicts around the world showed that countries would not hesitate to go to war over national interests. (ANI)