Atmanirbhar Bharat in Action: India’s Defence Exports Soar 20x in a Decade, Says PM Modi at Republic Plenary Summit

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that India's defence exports have increased 20 times more than what it was ten years ago, adding that there was a time when even rifles had to be imported for the utlization of the army. 

Speaking at the Republic Plenary Summit 2025 —Limitless India, Prime Minister Modi said, “A decade ago, we were importing rifles for our army. Now, after ten years, India's defence exports have grown 20 times.”

Calling the youth the ‘X Factor’ of current India, Prime Minister said X means experimentation, excellence, and expansion.

“Experimentation means that youth have paved new avenues. Excellence means the youth have set new benchmarks. Expansion means scaling up of innovation by the youth for the 140 crore citizens of the country,” he said. 

Prime Minister further said that India is making rapid strides at the economic front.  

“18 years ago, in 2007, India's annual GDP stood at ₹1 lakh crore, representing the total economic activity for an entire year. However, today, the same level of activity is achieved within just a single quarter. This remarkable transformation highlights the rapid pace of economic growth in present-day India,” PM Modi said. 

“After 65 years of independence, India was the 11th largest economy in the world. In just a decade, we have become the fifth largest economy. And with the same speed, we are going to become the third largest economy,” he added.

Republic Plenary Summit 2025-Limitless India

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