NITI Aayog member and former DRDO director general VK Saraswat has said that venture capitalists must increase financial support for Indian defence startups, which he asserted have come a long way.

On a question about deepening defence ties with the US and the balance required to ensure the enduring partnership with Russia is not affected, he said the prime focus was on meeting India's requirements rather than "choosing between A and B".

Speaking with PTI Videos on the sidelines of 'Advantage Vidarbha - 2026 Business Conclave and Investment Summit' at Nagpur, Saraswat asserted India will continue to progress on its path in the same way as the country has done in the past irrespective of what is happening in geopolitical framework.

Queried on what policymakers need to keep in mind to ensure ties with Russia does not get affected while the defence partnership with US deepens, the former DG of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said, 

"It is about how we look at our own business requirements. It is not a question of choosing between A and B. It is a question of how do we meet our requirements of security and latest technology in terms of weapons and ensuring it happens."

Queried on the robust allocation for defence in the 2026-27 Union Budget presented in Parliament on February 1, Saarswat said it indicated that the country's focus would now be on large-scale production of weapons and equipment required in future wars.

"It is also for indigenisation, for ensuring the private sector gets more participation for bringing down the cost and increasing the rate of production, and ensuring our products become cost-effective and competitive," he said.

Saraswat stressed the Budget allocations are in keeping with the lessons learnt in Operation Sindoor on the choice of weapons and the priority of its manufacturing.

"Whether I should go for long range supersonic missiles or stand-alone weapons that are needed for attacking from a distance. Because the future of war is non-contact warfare and in non-contact warfare, the technologies that are going to be used are of different nature. This Budget and the R&D initiative which the government has started with the participation of the private sector is totally in that direction," he said.

The defence outlay in the 2026-27 Union Budget stood at a whopping Rs 7.85 lakh crore, up from last year's allocation of Rs 6.81 lakh crore. Out of the total allocation, Rs 2,19,306 crore has been earmarked for capital expenditure to the armed forces that largely includes purchasing new weapons, aircraft, warships and other military hardware.

Responding to a query on defence R&D and how defence-related startups have gained from the budgetary support announced last year to create futuristic products in India, Saraswat cited the innovation process set up by the Ministry of Defence as well as the Department of Science and Technology and Department of Biotechnology.

"The ecosystem for all of them is basically to promote startup culture. Startups are coming up in a big way because the policies of the Union government are supporting them in a big way. Venture capitals must support defence startups, which (currently) is not as much as it should be," he said.

Indian startups have come a long way and they should be supported financially for their growth, Saraswat asserted.