Rajnath Singh, Minister of Defence, Government of India, delivered the keynote address titled 'Powering the Next Era of Defence' at DEFCON 2026.
The address focused on India's rapidly evolving defence ecosystem, self-reliance, indigenous capabilities, defence manufacturing, technology, and innovation. He continued to emphasise defence self-reliance, modernisation, and cutting-edge technology as paramount focus areas for the growth of India's defence sector.
Addressing the forum, the Defence Minister noted that national security must look beyond traditional physical boundaries, warning against what he called a perimeter fallacy.
He emphasised that while state borders remain fixed, the boundaries of modern security threats have become fluid and complex. The evolving security landscape encompasses non-traditional challenges such as drone warfare, cyber attacks, lone wolf actions, and deliberate disinformation campaigns.
The Minister noted that national security is deeply linked with economic and energy security, as hostile actors continuously attempt to target energy supply chains and economic infrastructure. To deal with these fluid dynamics, the government has adopted a comprehensive and integrated strategy to make the armed forces future-ready.
He stated that India maintains both the power of argument and the argument of power, communicating through whatever framework best serves national interests. Events like surgical strikes, the Balakot air strikes, and Operation Sindoor have demonstrated India's capability and resolve to safeguard its strategic interests.
He asserted that any terror attack originating from foreign soil will be treated as an act of war, with response strategies moving from containment to deterrence by punishment.
Strategic autonomy and self-reliance remain central to India's defence doctrine, supported by global engagements through forums like QUAD, I2U2, BIMSTEC, BRICS, and SCO.
The Defence Minister highlighted the role of artificial intelligence, robotics, additive manufacturing, dynamic automation, and digital twins in modern military capabilities. Special emphasis was placed on transforming domestic production, moving from mere assembly under Make in India to conceptualising indigenous technology through Design in India.
The government aims to position the nation as a global hub for drone manufacturing, leveraging key initiatives such as iDEX and the ADITI scheme.
Over 676 Start-Ups, MSMEs, and individual innovators have joined the defence innovation ecosystem under iDEX, leading to hundreds of executed contracts.
Horizontal and vertical integration of MSMEs with large-scale industries is being actively encouraged to accelerate domestic manufacturing capabilities. Digital platforms like the Udyam Portal continue to streamline operations for domestic entities, expanding production centres across hubs like Bangalore and beyond.
Over 5,500 military items have been included across positive indigenisation lists, restricting foreign reliance and promoting domestic production.
The allocation for defence research and development has grown by over 112 per cent, scaling up from ₹13,700 crore in 2014–15 to over ₹29,000 crore.
India's broader defence production ecosystem has crossed historic landmarks, aiming for annual defence production targets well above ₹1,75,000 crore.
Defence exports have witnessed exponential growth, surging from under ₹1,000 crore a decade ago to touching ₹21,083 crore in recent figures.
This self-reliant push has significantly reduced physical import burdens, cutting thousands of metric tons of reliant foreign hardware imports.
Welfare measures for military personnel were also announced, including lifetime free rail travel for Army Medal recipients and their eligible family members.
The Defence Minister reaffirmed the government's commitment to building a self-reliant, technological, and future-ready armed force capable of protecting national sovereignty.
Agencies
