India’s defence sector has shifted from dependence to assertiveness, marked by exponential growth in spending, domestic production, exports, and innovation, signalling a new era of strategic autonomy ahead of its 80th Independence Day.
India’s defence industry has moved from dependence to a far more assertive posture, with government data cited by the Press Information Bureau showing a sharp rise in spending, production, exports and research support over the past decade. As the country marked its 80th Independence Day, officials presented the shift as evidence that the Atmanirbhar Bharat drive is beginning to translate into greater military self-reliance and a stronger role in global security.
The numbers point to the scale of the change. Defence spending has climbed more than three-fold since 2013-14, while capital outlay has more than doubled, creating room for modernisation across the armed forces. The domestic production base has also expanded, with output reaching a record level in 2025-26 and private firms accounting for a growing share of manufacturing and exports. KPMG India and the Confederation of Indian Industry said in a 2025 report that policy reform, technology development and private-sector participation are now central to India’s long-term defence industrial ambitions.
That momentum has been matched by a rapid increase in exports. Government figures show shipments of defence equipment have risen dramatically since 2013-14, with India now selling systems to more than 80 countries. Drishti IAS reported in late 2025 that exports had already set a record in 2024-25 and that the country was shipping to more than 100 destinations, underscoring how quickly the sector has moved from import dependence towards overseas competitiveness. The government has now set a goal of annual defence production of ₹3 lakh crore and exports of ₹50,000 crore by 2029.
Research and development has become a more visible part of that push. Funding has more than doubled since 2014-15, and since 2022-23 a quarter of the R&D budget has been opened to industry, start-ups and academic institutions. The Defence Testing Portal now gives domestic firms access to facilities at 24 DRDO laboratories, while schemes such as iDEX, ADITI and the Technology Development Fund are meant to help smaller companies and new entrants turn ideas into prototypes and, eventually, contracts.
Procurement rules have also been reshaped to favour local design and manufacturing. The Defence Acquisition Council has approved large volumes of DRDO-designed and Indian industry-built systems, including fighter jets and light combat helicopters. According to government material, acquisition procedures and procurement manuals have been streamlined to speed approvals and make indigenous projects more attractive, while a draft 2026 acquisition framework would simplify categories further and raise domestic content thresholds.
Industry participation has widened through technology transfer, vendor development and new manufacturing clusters. DRDO has transferred technologies to scores of companies, and the number of indigenous items on positive lists has expanded into the thousands. Defence industrial corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have attracted substantial investment, with work under way in Lucknow on missile-related manufacturing. The government has also relaxed licensing rules, improved online processing through the Defence Exim Portal and kept foreign investment policy open enough to draw significant inflows.
The operational side of the transformation is visible across land, air and sea. The Indian Army has reportedly indigenised most ammunition variants, while missile and air-defence testing programmes have continued to advance. The navy has commissioned new warships and submarines with high indigenous content, and DRDO has continued trials in anti-ship and ballistic missile defence systems. Taken together, the picture is of a defence sector that is no longer defined only by imports and procurement, but by production capacity, technology development and a broader bid for strategic autonomy.
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