In 2024-25, India’s defence production exceeded its previous record by nearly 15 per cent, with the total reaching ₹1.46 trillion, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said. He noted that defence exports grew to over ₹24,000 crore in the previous year, a rise of nearly 14 per cent from the amount in FY24.
Singh stressed that the private sector has a role in defense and contributed more than ₹32,000 crore or 22 per cent of overall defense production. He made his speech at the Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII’s) annual business summit this week in New Delhi.
According to FY24 figures, the private sector produced 20.8 per cent of all goods and services. Industry leaders were told by the defence minister that, for the first time, the private sector will join public sector firms in a major defence project, under the AMCA programme model that was approved on Tuesday.
As part of the AMCA project, engineers plan to create five prototypes that will then be manufactured in larger series. It is an essential landmark in the progress of the Make-in-India programme, he explained. India’s defence minister said that being the fourth-largest economy filled the country with pride and highlighted the impact of the defence sector on its progress.
Around ten to eleven years ago, our output of defence goods was ₹43,000 crore. Currently, the Defence Budget is valued at over ₹1.46 trillion and is bolstered by more than ₹32,000 crore from the private sector, he said. Moreover, defence exports that used to be just ₹600-700 crore have shot up to more than ₹24,000 crore.
About 100 countries now use our weapons, systems, sub-systems, components and services. “Make-in-India” was vital in the success of India’s attacks on terrorist locations in Pakistan and PoK during May 7 to 10, according to Singh.
The minister said that it was the strength of indigenous defence that made it possible for operations to focus on destroying terrorist hideouts and military bases. Although we didn’t do everything that was possible, we did an admirable job of sharing and regulating power. Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh told representatives of the private sector at the same event that the government would treat them similarly to how it has always supported the public sector. “I’ll be working to make business easier, provide equal opportunities and, well, I’d like to bury you with orders,” he said.
Stressing that it had taken the armed forces up to a decade to complete large procurements which left gaps in their capabilities and unused defence funding, the secretary explained that was no longer the case. Our modernisation budget for the last financial year (FY25) was entirely spent for the first time in five years.
According to Singh, the key achievement was the signing of contracts worth ₹2 trillion which was twice the record set the previous fiscal year at ₹1 trillion. The secretary said she hoped this speedy development would boost military modernisation. Sustaining this high level of equipment use would enable us to approach the Ministry of Finance and the Finance Commission for extra funding, especially for upgrading our armed forces, he said.
He added, “With compound growth on our $4 trillion GDP, 1.9 per cent for defence spending will provide all the resources we need for updates, provided that the Ministry and industry are properly equipped to meet those needs.” At the function, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, Secretary of the Department of Defence R&D and DRDO Chairman Samir V Kamat, Vice Chief of the Army Staff Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani and CII President Sanjiv Puri were all present.
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