IAF Chief Calls for National Contribution Towards Defence R&D, Cites 'Dasvandh' Principle

By A Staff Reporter

New Delhi – In a compelling address highlighting the need for collective responsibility in national security, Indian Air Force Chief, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, emphasized the importance of a "whole-of-nation approach" to defence empowerment and called for increased investment in research and development (R&D) for the armed forces.

“This war was won by a whole-of-nation approach,” the IAF chief stated, referring to recent military successes. “The same approach needs to continue while talking about empowering the defence forces,” he added, underlining that national security is not the sole responsibility of the armed forces, but a shared mission requiring participation from all sections of society.

He drew a parallel with the Sikh tradition of ‘Dasvandh’—a practice of donating ten percent of one’s earnings to support the community and the underprivileged—as a model for citizen-led contributions to national defence. “I think people from the Punjabi community will understand something called ‘Dasvandh’, that ten per cent of our earnings should go back towards society,” he explained. “I think something on those lines we should start — if I am earning so much, some amount of money should go towards R&D, defence of the nation.”