September 13, 2025

India is facing a tricky world where countries are becoming more selfish and focused on protecting their own interests. Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh spoke about this at the Southern Command Defence Tech 2025 seminar (STRIDE 2025) on Friday. He said the good old days of free trade and global teamwork seem to be stopping because of wars in the Middle East and Europe and growing nationalist leaders worldwide. "These trends are causing competitive populism and economic protectionism around the world, accompanied by economic fragmentation, the decline of multilateral institutions, and a growing tide of nationalism," Singh said. What does this mean for India? It means the country cannot just rely on its soft power like culture and diplomacy anymore. "The need to back a soft power with hard power is becoming more and more critical at a time when strategic deal-making requires you to be able to project hard power as well," he explained. Singh urged everyone — from universities and research labs like DRDO to private and public companies — to join hands. The goal? To boost the armed forces' technology and capabilities so that India can protect itself better and play a strong role on the world stage. In short, while India charms the world with its culture, it must also be ready to show strong muscles when needed!

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Tags: Defence secretary, Rajesh kumar singh, Hard power, Soft power, Economic protectionism, Geopolitical trends,