Defence exports likely to go up to Rs 30K cr: Rajnath

India’s defence exports would reach Rs 30,000 crore by March 2026, claimed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh while addressing Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) here today.

Defence exports stood at Rs 23,622 crore in the previous fiscal ending March 2025. India is exporting guns, missiles, ammunition and sub-parts of equipment to several countries.

The minister assured the industry that work is underway to revise the Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020. He asked private entrepreneurs to increase contribution to the domestic defence manufacturing. At present, the private industry, in the last fiscal made about Rs 33,000 crore worth of equipment out of the total defence production of ₹1.50 lakh crore. The minister said the private industry contribution should be at least 50 per cent in the next three years.

Lauding the effective use of Made-in-India equipment by the armed forces during Operation Sindoor, the Minister said it bolstered India’s reputation both regionally and internationally. The world saw the prowess of the Akash missile system, BrahMos, AkashTeer Air Defence Control System and other indigenous equipment during Operation Sindoor.

Indigenisation was the only way to deal with the challenges emanating from the constantly-evolving defence sector and the nature of warfare. India, Rajnath said, was striving to ensure that the defence equipment was not just assembled in the country, but a real manufacturing base was established to create the equipment embodying the spirit of ‘Made in India, Made for the World’.

"Numerous initiatives such as the Quantum Mission, Atal Innovation Mission, and the National Research Foundation have been taken to develop a culture of innovation and R&D. Our industry must accomplish what has not yet been achieved in the country,” he added.

To further increase indigenisation, Rajnath urged the industry to strive towards dominating supply chains and maintenance chains while focusing on indigenous manufacturing of individual subsystems and components, and not just complete platforms.