Rajnath Singh Details India’s Defence Overhaul, Says Over 500 Companies Now Driving Industry Transformation

New Delhi: Defene Minister Rajnath Singh while speaking at Forces First - Bharat The Defence Powerhouse Conclave as hosted by Republic Media Network stated that the most significant step taken to strengthen India’s defence has been the pursuit of self-reliance within the industrial sector. He emphasized that true national power is not defined merely by the size of an army, but by a country's capacity to fulfill its own critical needs during times of crisis. 

According to the Defence Minister, possessing advanced weaponry and technology is essential to boosting the morale of soldiers. 

He further noted that when a nation relies on external sources for vital military requirements, such as ammunition, navigation systems, missiles, radars, and drones, its overall strategic and military autonomy remains restricted.

"The biggest work we have done to strengthen India in the defence sector is to increase self-reliance in the defence industrial sector," Singh said.

He added, "The real strength of any country cannot be measured only by the number of its army and soldiers. Its strength is determined by the fact that in times of crisis, can the country fulfill its needs or not?"

Rajnath on long-term vision

Rajnath Singh explained that the government is committed to a fundamental transformation of the defence sector. 

He added that over the past 12 years, India has moved beyond mere modernization to initiate a broader shift, transitioning from a consumer-based model to one defined by self-reliance and domestic production. He emphasized that achieving true self-reliance is a gradual process that extends far beyond simply building factories. 

According to the minister, this evolution begins with a fundamental change in mindset, which subsequently reshapes policy, adapts the administrative system, and ultimately drives the growth of the industry.

"Self-reliance starts with a change of thought. It changes the policy. The system changes with the policy. And the system affects the industry," he stated.

Singh on dynamic defence ecosystem

Rajnath Singh stated that as the industry evolves and production scales up, the nation surpasses basic self-reliance, creating an irreversible cycle of growth. 

According to Singh, the government initiated a series of systematic reforms to achieve this, beginning with the removal of restrictive rules that had long hindered the sector. 

Singh noted that they eliminated mandatory licensing requirements for various defence products and streamlined the remaining approval processes. 

Singh on ease of doing business

By prioritising the ease of doing business, Singh highlighted that these policy shifts have fostered a vibrant defence ecosystem, growing the number of manufacturing companies from a handful a few years ago to more than 500 today.

Singh added that establishing a defence unit in India is now as straightforward as entering any other industry, marking a successful transformation in the nation's policy-making framework.

According to the Defence Minister, these policy reforms have successfully fostered a "dynamic defence ecosystem."

"A few years ago, very few companies were working in the defence sector. Today, more than 500 companies are working in defence manufacturing," Singh said, adding that the process of establishing a defence manufacturing unit in India is now as streamlined as any other industry.

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