New Delhi: India is focusing on building a robust domestic defence ecosystem as strategic autonomy and indigenous military capabilities are essential to effectively deal with national security challenges, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said Tuesday.
In an address at a meeting of the Consultative Committee of the defence ministry in Jaisalmer, Singh said the government has been boosting the domestic defence industry as part of efforts to reduce the country’s strategic dependence on foreign sources.
“Strategic autonomy and indigenous technological capabilities are essential to safeguarding national security,” he said.
The meeting witnessed comprehensive deliberations on emerging security challenges, warfare paradigms, technological advancements and the imperative of building a future-ready, technologically empowered and operationally agile military. The key focus areas that emerged during the deliberations included accelerating the induction of next-generation platforms and weapon systems and strengthening the tri-service integration, joint operational planning and synergised application of capabilities.
In his remarks, the defence minister emphasised the need for the military to remain prepared to combat emerging challenges and listed the steps taken by the government across key dimensions such as “budget and capital acquisition” and “technology and human capital” to equip the military to meet the evolving demands of technology-driven modern warfare.
He highlighted the government’s sustained focus on budgetary support and capital acquisition to meet the modernisation requirements, stressing that adequate financial resources, coupled with effective utilisation and prioritisation of critical needs of the services.
Singh said the defence budget for financial year 2026-27 was increased to a record Rs 7.85 lakh crore, including a capital outlay of Rs 2.19 lakh crore.
On the vision of self-reliance in defence, he said that defence production has risen from Rs 46,429 crore in 2014-15 to a record Rs 1.78 lakh crore in 2025-26.
The defence exports, which stood at less than Rs 2,000 crore in 2014, increased to approximately Rs 40,000 crore.
“We aim to achieve defence production worth Rs 3 lakh crore and defence exports worth Rs 50,000 crore by 2029,” he added.
Singh underlined the transformative role of technology in modern warfare, stating that technological advancements are integral to the changing character of conflicts. Underscoring the importance of human capital, the defence minister said that the strength of a military is determined not merely by technology and financial resources, but also by the capabilities and preparedness of personnel.
“The rapidly evolving nature of warfare necessitates that our defence forces remain aligned with the changing requirements of modern warfare.Keeping this in mind, all three services have continuously refined their structures and formations,” he said.
“The Indian Army’s new formations, including the ‘Asani’, ‘Bhairav’ and ‘Shaktiban’ platoons, are proving highly effective in addressing contemporary operational requirements and adapting to the changing dynamics of the battlefield,” he said.
The defence minister stressed that modernisation is a continuous process, necessitating sustained efforts to enhance operational preparedness in response to evolving technologies, shifting security challenges and changing requirements.
He emphasised the need to build long-term capabilities that would enable the defence forces to remain operationally effective and self-reliant.
The meeting emphasised the need to translate intent into implementation, and highlighted the importance of a structured and phased approach to modernisation, according to the defence ministry.
The objective is to build a military capable of responding effectively to conventional, sub-conventional and multi-domain security challenges, it said.