Def Min Rajnath Singh calls for ‘targeted solutions and countermeasures’ in India’s expanding defense sector

Highlighting opportunities in India’s expanding defense sector, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Feb 10 urged global defense manufacturers to develop “targeted solutions and countermeasures” for challenges posed by the prevailing geopolitical volatility and rapidly evolving warfare technology.

Speaking at Asia’s largest defense exhibition, Aero India 2025, Singh emphasized that security transcends borders in today’s interconnected world. “Our security or peace does not exist in isolation as these are shared constructs that transcend national borders,” he said at the Yelahanka airbase.

“In these challenging times, where the global security situation is fragile, the rules-based order is being challenged and technologies are creating new opportunities and vulnerabilities, this roundtable will have a significant impact on how various initiatives are taken to boost security,” Singh told industry leaders.

The five-day biennial airshow has drawn over 900 exhibitors and officials from around 80 countries, including 120 CEOs of leading defense firms, showcasing India’s growing defense manufacturing capabilities and technological advancement.

Singh highlighted how modern warfare is increasingly shifting from hardware-centric systems to software-based ones. “Our reliance on space-based navigation systems, communication, and surveillance requires these assets to be integrated with our operational plans. The use of drones in recent conflicts indicates that the future will depend on the integrated efforts of manned, unmanned, and autonomous warfare systems. Our efforts in defense manufacturing must focus on these emerging areas,” he said at a CEOs roundtable.

Singh said the airshow would strengthen international cooperation, calling it “a confluence of critical and frontier technologies” that will “provide a platform to further strengthen relations among like-minded countries based on mutual respect and interest to deal with today’s uncertainties.”

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Upendra Dwivedi undertakes a joint sortie with Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh in Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, at the Air Force Station, Yelahanka in Bengaluru on Jan 9.(Image: adgpi-x)

The Defense Minister’s push for modernization comes against the backdrop of India having allocated ₹6.81 lakh crore for defense spending in the 2025-26 Union Budget, including ₹1.8 lakh crore for military modernization. The country has earmarked 75% of the modernization budget for domestic procurement to boost self-reliance.

Highlighting the private sector’s crucial role, Singh said, “The private sector is going to play a big role in the economic mainstreaming. Due to its drive, resilience, and entrepreneurship, the sector is capable of bringing in a new wave of prosperity.” He noted that in many advanced nations, private industry leads defense production, adding that “the time has come for the sector to be an equal partner in the Indian defense industry too.”

“We often interact as buyers and sellers, where our relations are at a transactional level. However, we forge partnerships beyond the buyer-seller relationship to the level of industrial collaboration,” Singh said, adding that the presence of foreign participants demonstrated their shared vision for the sector.

The government’s emphasis on domestic manufacturing received a boost as British engine maker Rolls-Royce announced plans to double its sourcing from India by 2030. The company currently sources high-precision parts and engine components for its defense, civil aerospace, and power systems businesses from Indian firms.

“India plays a significant role in our long-term strategy, both as a sourcing hub and as a strategic partner in advancing defense technologies,” said Alex Zino, who handles business development and future programs at Rolls-Royce.

Singh said India must protect its people and territory in a “hostile environment,” emphasizing the government’s focus on modernizing armed forces through “a strong, efficient, resilient and future-ready defense industrial ecosystem.”

Singh noted that India has emerged as “the preferred global destination for aerospace components and complex system assembly,” with both public and private sectors playing crucial roles in this transformation. He emphasized how the defense industrial sector, previously separate from the national economy, has now been fully integrated and serves as “a motor powering the growth engine of the Indian economy.”

The exhibition aims to facilitate co-development and co-production opportunities through strategic partnerships and joint ventures to accelerate indigenous production.