NEW DELHI: Defence Minister of India, Rajnath Singh, today underscored the pivotal role of indigenous defence manufacturing in safeguarding India’s national security, stating that the Make-in-India initiative was instrumental in the success of Operation Sindoor. Addressing the Inaugural Plenary of the CII Annual Business Summit in New Delhi, Singh said, “Make-in-India is an essential component in our national security.”
Singh highlighted the launch of the Execution Model for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), calling it a bold and decisive step that would bring private players into a mega defence project for the first time alongside the public sector. “Under the AMCA project, the plan is to develop five prototypes, which will be followed by series production,” he said.
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‘PoK Will Return Voluntarily’
In a strong message on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), the Defence Minister reaffirmed India’s position: “PoK is part of India; It will voluntarily return to our mainstream.” He added that most people in PoK have a deep emotional bond with India, and only a few have been misled.
He also remarked that India’s strategic posture had changed significantly: “We have redesigned and redefined our response against terrorism, and Pakistan has realised that running the business of terrorism is not cost-effective anymore.”
Rajnath Singh announced that India’s annual defence production has crossed ₹1.46 lakh crore, the highest ever, with private sector contributing over ₹32,000 crore. He also noted that defence exports have soared past ₹24,000 crore, up from just ₹600–700 crore a decade ago.
“Today, India is not just a consumer of defence technology, but also a producer and exporter. Our systems are reaching nearly 100 countries,” he said. Over 16,000 MSMEs are now part of the defence supply chain, providing employment to lakhs of Indians.
Addressing the theme of the summit — ‘Building Trust & India First’ — the Minister said, “It is not just about the economy growing in size; it is about the world’s ever-increasing trust in India and its trust in itself.”
He also outlined India’s strides in AI, cyber defence, unmanned systems, and space-based technologies, calling India a potential hub for future defence technologies.
Industry’s Role in Vision 2047
Calling Indian industry the carrier of the nation’s aspirations, he said: “Only the common efforts & synergy of the Government and the Industry can make India a developed nation by 2047.”
He urged business leaders to keep national interests at the forefront: “If securing company interests is your karma, safeguarding national interests is your dharma.”
Presence of Top Military Leadership
The event was attended by Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, DRDO Chairman Dr Samir V Kamat, Vice Chief of the Army Staff Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani, and CII President Sanjiv Puri, along with key industry leaders.
