Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh has underscored the crucial of Aatmanirbharta within the defence sector, calling it important not just for preserving India’s strategic autonomy but additionally for realising the bold imaginative and prescient of Viksit Bharat by 2047.
Addressing a high-level defence conclave in New Delhi on Could 29-30, Singh articulated the federal government’s sweeping reforms geared toward fortifying the home defence industrial base.
“Self-reliance in defence is central to securing our strategic pursuits and catalysing India’s transformation right into a developed financial system,” he mentioned.
Singh linked defence indigenisation to broader nationwide goals, together with scaling GDP from $4 trillion to $32 trillion, increasing manufacturing, fostering a vibrant startup ecosystem, producing employment, and leveraging dual-use applied sciences for civilian purposes.
India’s defence panorama has witnessed a tectonic shift over the previous decade. “From being the world’s largest importer in 2015, India has emerged as one of many prime 25 defence exporters,” Singh famous.
Over 100 Indian companies now export cutting-edge platforms and methods — together with BrahMos missiles, Pinaka rocket launchers, simulators, armoured autos, Dornier plane, and offshore patrol vessels — to greater than 100 nations. Defence exports have surged thirtyfold, touching Rs 23,622 crore in FY 2023-24.
The home ecosystem now includes 16 Defence PSUs, 430 licensed non-public entities, and practically 16,000 MSMEs. Indigenous defence manufacturing has tripled from Rs 43,746 crore in 2014 to Rs 1.27 lakh crore within the final fiscal.
In a significant milestone, the Ministry of Defence totally utilised its modernisation finances in FY 2024-25 for the primary time in 5 years. It additionally inked contracts price a document Rs 2 lakh crore — double the earlier yr’s whole. “This unprecedented capital outlay is not going to solely speed up modernisation but additionally bolster the case for rising defence expenditure to 2.5 per cent of GDP within the close to time period and as much as 3 per cent within the medium time period,” Singh acknowledged.
On the reform entrance, Singh introduced a pointy discount in procurement cycle timelines, shaving off practically 69 weeks from sure processes. The Defence Acquisition Process 2020 is being comprehensively overhauled to mirror operational realities and foster competitiveness.
He harassed the necessity to shift from a legacy cost-plus, PSU-centric procurement mannequin to a market-driven, aggressive regime the place each private and non-private gamers can vie for contracts. This mannequin is already being utilized to shipbuilding and the AMCA challenge.
The Secretary highlighted a set of structural reforms: transitioning to deemed licensing to boost bureaucratic accountability, scrapping product reservations for PSUs, streamlining procurement protocols, and adopting aggressive bidding. These steps, he mentioned, are very important for broadening the defence manufacturing base and unlocking non-public sector potential.
Singh urged non-public business to decide to long-term investments in R&D, capital gear, and engineering infrastructure. “Companies missing the technological depth, capital base, or willingness to put money into innovation ought to rethink venturing into defence. With out these fundamentals, their contribution to strategic autonomy shall be negligible,” he asserted.
Reiterating the federal government’s dedication to a stage taking part in subject, Singh assured the non-public sector of continued enhancements in ease of doing enterprise, geared toward fostering a strong, resilient and future-ready home defence ecosystem.
