India’s defence manufacturing sector has surged to unprecedented heights, posting a record production figure of ₹1.27 lakh crore in the fiscal year 2023–24, the Ministry of Defence announced on Tuesday. This remarkable milestone underscores a decade of concerted effort to wean the armed forces off foreign suppliers and build a homegrown arsenal of cutting-edge platforms.
In parallel with production gains, defence exports have rocketed to ₹21,083 crore in 2023–24—a thirty-fold rise over ten years—reaching customers in more than a hundred countries. Driven by the government’s “Make in India” initiative, a suite of indigenously developed systems has taken shape, from the Dhanush artillery gun and the Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) to the Arjun main battle tank and the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas.
Naval capabilities have also been bolstered by a flotilla of domestically built vessels: destroyers, frigates, corvettes, fast patrol and attack craft, offshore patrol vessels—and even India’s first fully indigenous aircraft carrier. Rotary-wing assets like the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) and Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), alongside missile and radar systems such as Akash surface-to-air missiles, weapon-locating radars, and 3D tactical control radars, reflect a breadth of innovation.
The shift to self-reliance is stark: once import-dependent for upwards of 65–70 percent of its requirements, India now sources roughly 65 percent of its defence hardware locally. A defence industrial base encompassing 16 public sector undertakings, over 430 license-holding private firms and some 16,000 micro, small and medium enterprises has emerged as the backbone of this transformation. The private sector alone accounted for 21 percent of total production last year, bringing fresh efficiencies and entrepreneurial drive to an ecosystem long dominated by state entities.
The government’s sustained investment—evidenced by the defence budget climbing from ₹2.53 lakh crore in 2013–14 to a projected ₹6.81 lakh crore for 2025–26—has provided the financial muscle for research, development and large-scale manufacturing. Building on this momentum, officials have set an ambitious target: reaching ₹3 lakh crore in annual production by 2029, cementing India’s status as a global defence manufacturing hub.
As strategic partnerships deepen and technology transfers accelerate, New Delhi’s vision of an autonomous, innovation-driven defence sector is rapidly taking shape—signaling a new era in which India supplies the world, rather than the other way around.
