Indigenous defence equipment is attraction for the world, says Rajnath Singh

Indigenously developed defence equipment are not only protecting India’s borders but also becoming the centre of attraction for the entire world, said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Bengaluru.

He was speaking during the valedictory ceremony at Aero India 2025 at Yelahanka Air Force Station.

“We all know that historically, India has been dependent on imports for its defence requirements. A decade ago, 65 to 70 per cent of defence equipment was being imported. In the present situation, we are manufacturing the same percentage of defence equipment,” he said.

In the context of self-reliance, he said that not only have the numbers swapped, but the entire picture of defence manufacturing in the country has changed.

“Today, we have a strong defence industrial complex. It comprises 16 Defence Public Sector Undertakings, 430 licensed companies and around 16,000 MSMEs. A special thing is that the private sector is actively participating in achieving our goal of self-reliance, with its current share of 21 per cent in total defence production,” he said.

“For a long time, the role of the private sector in defence manufacturing was less. And there have been many reasons for this”, he added.

“Big defence products are capital intensive; their manufacture also takes a long time. On the other hand, they were not able to get the guarantee that after so much investment and time-lag, whether the forces would procure those products,” he said.

He asserted that national security is paramount and there is no scope for any kind of compromise in it.

“I am happy to say that today our forces are not only being equipped with the ‘best’ equipment, but are also being equipped with equipment manufactured on our own country’s soil,” he said.

“I appreciate the patriotism and love for the country that our forces have displayed by showing their full trust in indigenously manufactured defence products. Our forces have wholeheartedly adopted weapons and all kinds of war-related equipment manufactured in the country itself,” he added.

The huge Defence Industrial Complex that is being built in India today, is based on the trust and unwavering faith of all defence forces in it, he pointed out.

The government has introduced multiple policy measures and reforms to foster indigenous design, development, and production of defence equipment, thereby advancing self-reliance in defence manufacturing.

Significant investments are being made in defence and aerospace manufacturing, with the establishment of several defence hubs. Moreover, many global companies have already shared, or shown willingness to share, critical defence and aerospace expertise with India.

India’s defence exports reached a record Rs 21,083 crore (approximately USD 2.63 billion) in the financial year 2023-24, marking a 32.5 per cent increase from Rs 15,920 crore in the previous fiscal year.

Notably, defence exports have grown 31-fold over the past decade compared to 2013-14. The total value of defence production in India also increased by 17 per cent to Rs 126,887 crore in the last fiscal year.