India has transitioned from a heavy reliance on defence imports to becoming a record-making exporter of military equipment [1, 2].
This shift marks a strategic pivot for the nation's security infrastructure. By reducing dependence on foreign suppliers, India seeks to enhance its strategic autonomy, and strengthen its economic security through a policy of self-reliance [1, 5].
Defence exports reached a record Rs 38,424 crore in 2024 [3]. This growth is driven by a combination of government policy and industrial expansion. Defence Public Sector Undertakings were a primary driver of this success, contributing 54.84 percent of the total exports [3].
The transformation is being led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh [1, 2]. The government has set an ambitious long-term trajectory for the sector. On May 23, 2024, an export-growth goal was announced with the objective of making India the world's largest arms exporter within 25 to 30 years [4].
This trajectory represents a departure from previous decades where India was primarily known as one of the world's largest importers of arms. The current strategy focuses on building a domestic manufacturing powerhouse capable of competing on a global scale [1, 5].
“India has transitioned from a heavy reliance on defence imports to becoming a record-making exporter.”
India's move toward becoming a global arms supplier suggests a desire to decouple its national security from the geopolitical whims of foreign exporters. By leveraging state-owned undertakings to drive over half of its exports, the government is using a centralized industrial model to build the scale necessary to compete with established Western and Russian defence firms.
