“Nothing less than the best can be allowed when it comes to national security; Providing our soldiers with the best of everything is our national responsibility”
“The time has come for the private industry to take a lead in defence manufacturing sector in India”
India’s indigenous ingenuity in defence manufacturing displayed through 33 state-of-the-art items at ‘Samarthya’ indigenisation event, first-of-its-kind at Aero India
Bengaluru, NFAPost: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said India is going through a revolutionary phase of transformation and is moving towards becoming a global leader in defence innovation & aerospace technology.
Addressing the Valedictory event of 15th Aero India in Bengaluru, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said holistic national empowerment was the underlying philosophy of the mantra of self-reliance given by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“This philosophy gradually turned into our national spirit and now it is rapidly moving ahead to becoming a national resolution and national revolution,” said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh acknowledged the energy and enthusiasm being witnessed at Aero India 2025, stating that the growing participation of domestic & global exhibitors at the event and the breath-taking aerobatic performances by the Indian Air Force have made the 15th edition of Asia’s biggest aerospace and defence exhibition an unparalleled & historic event. He expressed optimism towards deeper and meaningful engagements amongst participating defence and aerospace companies.
Elaborating on the drastic change being witnessed in the field of defence manufacturing in the country, Raksha Mantri expressed appreciation over the fact that while 65-70% of defence equipment was imported a decade ago, today almost the same percentage of weapons/platforms are being manufactured on the Indian soil.
“Today, we are at a juncture where many defence products, including fighter jets, missile systems & naval vessels, are not only protecting our borders, but also catching the attention of the world. From small artillery to large platforms like Brahmos and Akash missile system, we are exporting a variety of products to many countries. We have forged new partnerships at the global level, which has resulted in increased defence exports,” said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh asserted that India possesses a strong defence industrial complex, comprising 16 Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), 430 licensed companies & about 16,000 MSMEs. He underlined that, with its current share of 21% in total defence production, the private sector is playing an active role in achieving the goal of self-reliance.
He listed out the policies being constantly rolled out by the Government for the progress of both public and private sectors, including the revision of Defence Acquisition Procedure and the launch of initiatives/schemes such as Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), Acing Development of Innovative Technologies with iDEX (ADITI) and Technology Development Fund (TDF). The time has come for the private industry to take a lead in the defence manufacturing sector in India, he said.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh stressed on the fact that, in addition to the public & private sectors, the Armed Forces play the biggest role in the country’s pursuit of self-reliance.
“National security is of utmost importance and there is no scope for any compromise. Nothing less than the best can be allowed when it comes to national security. Be it the equipment for our soldiers or provision of proper amenities for them & their families, providing them the best in everything is our national responsibility. I am happy to say that today our forces are not only being equipped with the ‘best’ weapons/technologies, they possess the platforms manufactured in India,” said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh .
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh appreciated the Armed Forces for their full trust in indigenously-manufactured defence products. “The military has wholeheartedly adopted weapons and equipment manufactured in the country. Only with the complete satisfaction of our Armed Forces can we move ahead to achieve self-reliance at a faster pace. The huge Defence Industrial Complex being built in India is based on the trust and faith of all our forces,” he said.
The Defence Minister reiterated the Government’s commitment to constantly increase defence preparedness, keeping in mind the dimensions of warfare emerging today. He said Aero India 2025 has shown the potential that the future of Indian defence and aerospace sector is not just limited to the skies, but beyond it. He expressed gratitude to everyone for participating in the 15th Aero India, and hoped that it sows seeds of many collaborative, mutually beneficial and successful ventures & alliances amongst the participants.
Earlier, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh graced ‘Samarthya’ indigenisation event, which was first-of-its-kind at Aero India. It showcased India’s indigenous ingenuity in defence manufacturing through 33 major items including 24 of DPSUs, DRDO & Indian Navy and nine successful innovation projects of Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX).
The items included ELECTRO BLOCK of Anti-Aircraft Machine Gun, Electric Mobile Part for submarine, Torsion Bar Suspension of HMV 6×6, Extruded Al alloy for components of LCA MK-I/II, LCH, Indian High temperature alloy (IHTA) Forged, Solution Annealed & Machined Billet, VPX-135 Single Board Computer, Muzzle Bore Sight of Tank T-90, RudraM II MISSILE, Naval Anti-Ship Missile–Short Range, C4ISR System, DIFM R118 Electronic Warfare Systems, Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast Receiver, Next-Generation Electric Ferry, Computerised Pilot Selection System, Counter measures for illegal drones (RF Jammer Guns), 4G/LTE TAC-LAN, Generation of Quantum Secure Keys between two nodes connected directly over 200 Kms) QKD – Armos, Abhed1 Secure Hardware based offline Encryption, Advanced autonomous systems for the armed forces, Attack surface monitoring tool, AI/ Ml Based Analytical and Decision Support Platforms (DeepDarshak), Smart Compressed Breathing Apparatus, Fire Wire for IFDSS, Portable RCS measuring device, Penetrator Assy for 125mm FSAPDS, Pilot Parachute PSU-36 for SU-30MKI, Knock out Engine (KOE) Charge for Konkurs-M missile, Diffusion Technology based Drivers Night Sight for BMP II and 30mm Six Barrel AO-18 Gun for AK630M Naval Gun.
During the event, three booklets – Coffee Table Booklet ‘Samarthya’ on Indigenisation; Compendium of Problem Definition Statement (CPDS) i.e. 2025 and Booklet of HQ IDS – were released by Raksha Mantri. The Coffee Table Booklet provides an overview of the indigenisation journey led by the Department of Defence Production. The Booklet of HQ IDS offers insights into conducting multi-domain operations in a data-centric environment, in the backdrop of emergence of new & transformative technology.
The CPDS aims to bridge the gap between the operational challenges of the Indian Army and the innovative solutions offered by academia, industry start-ups and research institutions. It contains 82 Problem Statements across 11 functional domains of warfare, including AI, communications, electronic warfare, situational awareness, survivability, mobility, armament, unmanned systems, cyber, logistical challenges etc. It also includes problem statements for Indigenisation/ import substitution to reduce our import dependency for certain components or assemblies of legacy equipment.
The CPDS is a structured approach where the Army identifies and documents critical operational challenges and provides a platform for the Indian defence ecosystem to engage directly while accelerating the research and deployment of cutting-edge technologies tailored to the Army’s needs. The detailed guidelines elaborating on the procedure for submitting responses and evaluation criteria have been included in the Compendium available for download in the Army Design Bureau webpage of Indian Army website.
During the event, employees and associated industry partners of the DPSUs, DRDO, Services, who have contributed immensely in the indigenisation of the displayed items were felicitated during the event. Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth; Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan; Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi; Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi; Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh; Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh; Secretary (Defence Production) Sanjeev Kumar were among those who attended the event.
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