Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday (November 3, 2026) said military preparedness in the 21st century was intrinsically linked to technological and industrial capabilities, emphasising that India’s pursuit of self-reliance must go beyond indigenous manufacturing to achieving technological sovereignty.
Highlighting the changing character of warfare, Mr. The growing use of relatively inexpensive drones and autonomous systems was challenging sophisticated and costly military platforms, making rapid innovation, large-scale manufacturing and the ability to replenish military capabilities equally important. Addressing the third edition of the Delhi Defence Dialogue 2026 at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), Mr. Pointing to the growth of the domestic defence industry, the Defence Minister said production had reached a record ₹1.78 lakh crore in 2025-26, while exports rose to ₹38,424 crore. Indian defence products were now reaching more than 80 countries. The government has set a target of achieving ₹3 lakh crore in defence production and ₹50,000 crore in exports by 2029, he said, calling for improvements in manufacturing capacity, product quality and global competitiveness.
Singh said true self-reliance meant possessing the knowledge to design defence platforms, the technology to manufacture them, intellectual property to upgrade them and the capability to sustain them throughout their lifecycle. “Self-reliance without reforms, international collaborations and exports would limit India’s technological horizons, industrial scale and global competitiveness,” he said. Singh said recent conflicts had demonstrated how battlefields were expanding beyond land, sea and air into space, cyberspace and the digital domain. He said the government was encouraging greater private sector participation in advanced defence programmes, including the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), propulsion systems, Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS), artillery ammunition and shipbuilding.
