Rajnath sets Rs 3 lakh crore defence production goal for 2029 at Jaisalmer review of military modernisation

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said India wants to produce defence equipment worth Rs 3 lakh crore a year and export arms worth Rs 50,000 crore by 2029. He was speaking on Tuesday in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, at a meeting of the Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Defence, a panel of MPs from both Houses, held on the theme of modernising the armed forces.

Where the numbers stand

Singh told members that annual defence production had grown from Rs 46,429 crore in 2014-15 to a record Rs 1.78 lakh crore in 2025-26. Exports, he said, had climbed from under Rs 2,000 crore in 2014 to about Rs 40,000 crore. The defence budget for 2026-27 is a record Rs 7.85 lakh crore, of which Rs 2.19 lakh crore is set aside as capital outlay for new equipment.

Meeting the 2029 goals would mean raising output by roughly two-thirds and exports by a quarter in about three years.

Technology and people

The minister set out the government's approach under three headings: budget and capital buying linked to self-reliance, technology, and human capital. He said modernisation was a continuing process rather than a shopping list, and that a force's strength depended as much on the skill and readiness of its people as on money and machines.

He said the government was giving private companies, from small firms to large manufacturers, a fair chance to compete, and called for more spending on research and less reliance on foreign suppliers. He cited the Army's newly raised Asani, Bhairav and Shaktiban units as proving effective in current operations.

Discussions covered faster induction of next-generation weapons, closer working between the Army, Navy and Air Force, and emerging fields including artificial intelligence, unmanned systems, cyber, space and electronic warfare. Members also looked at tighter links between the forces, DRDO, defence public sector units, private industry and universities.

The meeting called for a phased roadmap with clear priorities, measurable milestones and regular progress reviews, aimed at preparing the forces for conventional, sub-conventional and multi-domain threats. MPs offered suggestions, the ministry said. Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and other senior officials attended.

Why it matters

India remains one of the world's largest arms importers. Higher domestic output would cut that dependence and support jobs in a growing manufacturing sector, while export growth would help defence firms reach the scale needed to fund new research.