The country, once dependent on foreign suppliers, now stands as an emerging force in indigenous manufacturing and is shaping its military strength through domestic capabilities.
India has performed well in defense production in the last decade. Since the launch of the “Make in India” initiative, the country’s defense production has grown at an extraordinary pace. It has reached a record Rs1.27 lakh crore in FY 2023-24. The country, once dependent on foreign suppliers, now stands as an emerging force in indigenous manufacturing and is shaping its military strength through domestic capabilities. The increase in the defence budget from ₹2.53 lakh crore in 2013-14 to ₹6.81 lakh crore in 2025-26 underlines the country’s determination to strengthen its military infrastructure.
Defense production highlights:
- 65% of defence equipment is now manufactured domestically
- 16 DPSUs, over 430 licensed companies, around 16,000 MSMEs
- Private sector contributes 21% to total defense production
- Target of Rs 3 lakh crore in defense production by 2029
- Defence exports jump 21-fold to ₹88,319 crore
- ‘Made in Bihar’ shoes are now part of Russian army’s equipment
- India is now exporting defence equipment to over 100 countries
- USA, France and Armenia to emerge as top buyers in 2023-24
- Government aims to increase defense exports to Rs 50,000 crore by 2029
Strengthening Make in India
This growth has been fuelled by the Make in India initiative. This includes the manufacture of Dhanush Artillery Gun System, Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS), Main Battle Tank (MBT) Arjun, Light Specialist Vehicles, High Mobility Vehicles, Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, etc. According to data from all Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), other public sector units and private companies manufacturing defence items, the value of defence production has reached a record high of Rs 1,27,265 crore, showing an impressive growth of 174% from Rs 46,429 crore in 2014-15.
