Jaisalmer, Rajasthan – India aims to sharply expand defence manufacturing and sales abroad by 2029, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday, November 3, outlining targets at a parliamentary committee meeting in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. The government wants annual defence production to reach ₹3 lakh crore and exports to reach ₹50,000 crore, while reducing reliance on foreign suppliers and upgrading the armed forces.
Singh said production had risen from ₹46,429 crore in 2014-15 to a record ₹1.78 lakh crore in 2025-26. Defence exports, he said, had grown from less than ₹2,000 crore in 2014 to approximately ₹40,000 crore. The new goals would require continued expansion in manufacturing capacity, technology development and the ability to deliver equipment to both domestic forces and overseas customers.
The figures reflect a rapidly growing sector, although reported totals vary with the financial year and the release being cited. A government backgrounder put defence production at a record ₹1.54 lakh crore in 2024-25, and exports at ₹23,622 crore that year, up 12.04 per cent from 2023-24. It said Indian suppliers served around 80 countries, with exports spanning ammunition, arms, subsystems, complete systems and components.
The committee meeting focused on how to turn the expansion into military capability. Discussions covered next-generation platforms and weapons, coordination among the Army, Navy and Air Force, joint operational planning and the use of capabilities across multiple domains. Participants also considered artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, unmanned platforms, cyber and space capabilities, electronic warfare and advanced communications.
Singh cited the 2026-27 defence budget of ₹7.85 lakh crore, including ₹2.19 lakh crore for capital expenditure and procurement, as support for modernisation. He stressed that funding must be used effectively and directed towards priority requirements. Modernisation, he said, involves more than buying equipment: personnel readiness and the capacity to adapt to changing forms of conflict are also essential.
The minister also pointed to Army formations named Asani, Bhairav and Shaktiban, saying they were designed to meet contemporary operational needs. He called for closer collaboration among the armed services, the Defence Research and Development Organisation, defence public-sector companies, private manufacturers, start-ups and academic institutions. The objective, according to the ministry, is to move research and innovation into operational use and make acquisition and development processes more coordinated.
Private industry and smaller suppliers are central to the production ambition. Government figures for 2024-25 cited 16,000 micro, small and medium enterprises and 788 industrial licences issued to 462 companies. The same backgrounder said private firms accounted for ₹15,233 crore of that year’s exports, while defence public-sector undertakings contributed ₹8,389 crore. Broader participation could enlarge manufacturing capacity, but meeting the export goal will also depend on securing orders and sustaining deliveries.
The targets therefore set two tests for the government’s self-reliance drive: whether manufacturers can scale output without compromising delivery and quality, and whether Indian products can compete consistently in overseas markets. Defence exports can strengthen industrial links and partnerships, but production totals alone do not show how much equipment is domestically designed or how dependence on imported components is changing.
Singh framed indigenous research, design and manufacturing as strategic priorities, arguing that technological autonomy is important to national security. The committee’s proposed roadmap calls for phased modernisation, prioritising critical capabilities, streamlining development and procurement, and reviewing progress. The 2029 goals now give that effort a measurable economic benchmark; the government’s broader challenge is to ensure industrial growth produces reliable equipment and a more capable, prepared military.
