Aatmanirbhar Bharat: Building India Defence Industrial Base

Published on : 02

Mar 2026

India’s defence sector is undergoing a historic shift. The Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative has placed indigenous manufacturing at the core of national security strategy, with the government targeting USD 25 billion in defence production and USD 5 billion in exports by 2025.

Through the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020, India has categorised procurement to prioritise domestically designed and manufactured systems. Two dedicated Defence Industrial Corridors — in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu — are accelerating investment, with over ₹50,000 crore committed by leading private players.

DRDO, HAL, BDL, BEML, and a growing ecosystem of private OEMs and deep-tech startups are delivering next-generation platforms — from the Tejas fighter jet and Arjun MBT to the Akash missile system and advanced naval platforms. iDEX has empowered over 300 startups to co-develop critical technologies with the armed forces.

Bharat Defence Tech Show (BDTS) 2026 serves as a premier platform to accelerate this transformation — uniting policymakers, armed forces, DRDO scientists, and global OEMs in one strategic forum to align technology, policy, and partnership toward a truly self-reliant India.

BDTS is the defining stage where India's indigenisation story meets global ambition.