New Delhi, June 17 (IANS). India’s defense sector has seen major changes between 2014 and 2026. According to an official fact sheet released on Wednesday, the country’s annual defense exports were only Rs 686 crore in 2013-14, rising to a record Rs 38,424 crore in 2025-26. Today, India’s military equipment is in demand in more than 80 countries of the world.
The government has made several major policy reforms under the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and ‘Make in India’ campaigns. Domestic innovation has been promoted and a strong defense ecosystem has been created. Important initiatives such as the Defense Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 and Defense Procurement Manual (DPM) 2025 have streamlined processes, promoted the use of indigenous content and opened up new opportunities for the private sector and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
According to the fact sheet, Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has played a key role in the development of cutting-edge defense technologies. DRDO has worked with industry to transform many new technologies into battlefield-ready systems.
The country’s defense budget was Rs 2.53 lakh crore in 2013-14, which has increased to Rs 7.85 lakh crore in 2026-27. At the same time, indigenous defense production has increased from Rs 46,429 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 1.78 lakh crore in 2025-26.
Military modernization and indigenous production have been supported through a steady increase in the defense budget. Funding for research and development (R&D) has also more than doubled, with increased participation from industries, startups and academic institutions. Initiatives such as Srijan Deep, Positive Indigenization List and liberal foreign direct investment (FDI) policy have promoted private sector participation.
Through strategic partnerships and indigenous defense platforms, India is strengthening its military capability and emerging as a responsible defense partner globally. The government says that the efforts of the last decade have laid a strong foundation of a self-reliant and future-ready defense system, keeping in mind the vision of the year 2047.
According to official data, the allocation for defense research and development was Rs 13,716.14 crore in 2014-15, which has increased to Rs 29,100.25 crore in 2026-27. This represents an increase of more than 112 percent.
The government had opened up 25 percent of the defense research and development budget in 2022-23 to industries, startups and educational institutions, so that innovation could be promoted on a large scale. The Defense Department had allocated Rs 1,757 crore for this purpose in the year 2024.
Additionally, the statement said the government has also made many of DRDO’s world-class R&D facilities available to private industries to enhance transparency and cooperation in the defense sector. For this, the Defense Ministry has prepared necessary Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and made the testing facilities of 24 laboratories of DRDO available on the Defense Testing Portal. This is helping private companies and startups in developing and testing defense technologies.
–IANS
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