India gradually emerging as global hub in defence manufacturing: PM

India is attaining 'Aatmanirbharta' (self-reliance) in defence and gradually emerging as a global manufacturing hub of military equipment due to measures taken by the government in the last few years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday.

In his Independence Day speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Modi said there was a time when the majority of the defence budget was used to procure military hardware from abroad, but his government focused on indigenous defence production.

"We are becoming self-reliant in the defence sector. Today, we have our own identity in defence manufacturing. India is emerging as a defence manufacturing hub," he said. The prime minister complimented the defence ministry and the armed forces for taking a series of decisions, including the notification of a number of positive indigenisation lists under which over thousands of items are being procured from the Indian industry in line with designated timelines.

According to the Defence Ministry, a total of 5,600 items have been identified for domestic manufacturing. Modi expressed satisfaction that India, which was once dependent on import of defence equipment, is today exporting military hardware to numerous countries.

The annual defence production hit a record high of Rs 1.27 lakh crore in 2023-24, according to the defence ministry. In the same fiscal, defence exports touched Rs 21,083 crore, an increase of 32.5 per cent over 2022-23. There has been a significant jump in defence exports in the first quarter of 2024-25 as Rs 6,915 crore worth of defence equipment was exported. The amount is an increase of 78 per cent from the first quarter of 2023-24 when it was Rs 3,885 crore.

In June, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, outlining his vision in the defence sector for the next five years, said the government will work assiduously to increase the exports of military hardware to Rs 50,000 crore by 2028-29.

According to estimates, the Indian armed forces is projected to spend around USD 130 billion in capital procurement over the next five-six years. The government now wants to reduce dependence on imported military platforms and has decided to support domestic defence manufacturing.

On the growing role of women in all sectors, the prime minister emphasised that women are not just participating in the progress of the nation, but are playing a leadership role." Be it the Army, Navy, Air Force or the space sector, we are witnessing the ever-growing Nari Shakti (women power) of our country," he said.