New Delhi, June 17. India’s defence production touched a record ₹1.78 lakh crore (about $18.9 billion) in the financial year 2025-26, registering a 15.6 percent increase over the previous year and underscoring the growing strength of the country’s indigenous defence manufacturing ecosystem.
According to the Ministry of Defence, defence output rose from ₹1.54 lakh crore in FY 2024-25 to ₹1.78 lakh crore in FY 2025-26. The latest figure marks a 110 percent jump from ₹84,643 crore recorded in FY 2020-21 and nearly four times the level of ₹43,746 crore achieved in 2013-14.
Defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs) and other public sector entities accounted for around 76 percent of the total production, while the private sector contributed the remaining 24 percent. The private sector’s share, up from 22 percent in the previous fiscal, reached a record value of nearly ₹42,000 crore, highlighting its expanding role in the country’s defence industrial base.
The increase in domestic manufacturing also helped India achieve record defence exports worth ₹38,424 crore during FY 2025-26. The government attributed the growth to its push for self-reliance in defence production under the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ (Self-reliant India) initiative.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the achievement reflected the success of policies aimed at strengthening indigenous capabilities. In a post on X, he credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and praised the efforts of the Department of Defence Production as well as public and private sector stakeholders for attaining the milestone.
Singh said the sustained growth in production demonstrated the expansion of India’s defence industrial base and expressed confidence that continued policy support, increasing private sector participation and rising export capabilities would further accelerate the sector’s growth in the coming years.
