Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh laid out a compelling vision for a self-reliant and future-ready India at a Defence Conclave in New Delhi today on April 17, 2025. With a clear focus on indigenisation, innovation, and global leadership, he declared that India is not only securing its borders but also positioning itself as a key player in the international defence ecosystem. “The day is not far when India will not only emerge as a developed country, but our Military Power will also emerge as the number one in the world,” he added.
Raksha Mantri reiterated that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the revival and strengthening of the defence sector is one of the biggest priorities for the government. He further stated that the government’s first and foremost challenge was to change the mindset that India would simply import to meet its defence needs. “India will reduce its dependency on imports and create a defence industrial complex that will not only meet India’s needs but will also strengthen the potential of defence exports,” he emphasised.
“Today, while India’s defence sector is moving ahead on the path of self-reliance, it is also ready to play a very important role in making global supply chains resilient,” Raksha Mantri emphasised. He added that the Make in India program is not only strengthening the country’s defence production but also has the capability to make the global defence supply chain resilient and flexible. He further stated that while India’s defence manufacturing capabilities are aimed at national security and strategic autonomy, they are also insulating manufacturing from global supply shocks.
Rajnath Singh underlined that India’s growing defence capability is not meant to provoke conflict. “Our defence capabilities are like a credible deterrence, to maintain peace and tranquillity. Peace is possible only when we remain strong,” he added.
On the evolving nature of warfare, Rajnath Singh underscored that in the coming days, conflicts & wars will be more violent and unpredictable. The Cyber & Space Domains are rapidly emerging as new battlefields and along with this, a war of narrative & perception is also being fought all over the world. To address these challenges, he mentioned that the focus is on holistic capacity building and continuous reforms. Raksha Mantri also announced that the Ministry of Defence had declared 2025 as the ‘Year of Reforms’.
