India's defence industry takes off: The numbers explained
India's domestic defence industry has seen significant growth over the past decade, with production reaching a record Rs 1.78 lakh crore in 2025-26. This expansion is supported by increased government spending, policy reforms, and a massive surge in defence exports.
Why it matters
The shift toward indigenous defence production reduces India's reliance on imports and positions the country as a growing global player in the military hardware market.
Over the past decade, India's domestic defence industry has steadily grown, and recently released numbers show the scope and size of this growth. India, still one of the largest defence importers, has steadily, over this time frame, reduced dependence on imported weapons, platforms, systems and sub-systems across the three services, as well as for exports. This shift is being driven by a combination of higher defence spending, changes in procurement policy, growing private-sector participation, and greater investment in research and development.Big transformation in defence sector The scale of this transformation becomes clear when you look at production figures. Defence output touched a record Rs 1.78 lakh crore in 2025-26, up 15.6% from Rs 1.54 lakh crore the previous year, and more than double what it stood at just five years earlier in 2020-21, when the figure was Rs 84,643 crore.
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