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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday stressed that India's defence self-reliance must go beyond domestic production and ensure cost-effectiveness, operational superiority and global competitiveness.
Addressing Swavlamban 2026 in the national capital, Singh said that while quality and quantity remained important, efficiency and affordability were equally essential to strengthening India's defence manufacturing capabilities. "At this stage of self-reliance, we must not only focus on domestic production, but ensure that this production is cost-effective, operationally superior, and competitive on a global scale. In other words, it is not just a matter of quality, though quality is certainly a key factor. It is not merely about quantity; it is also about efficiency and affordability. These are challenges that you must address...Our self-reliance should not only provide security, but also strengthen us economically, he said. The Defence Minister also highlighted the need to identify vulnerabilities in India's supply chains and determine areas where the country remains dependent on external sources. He acknowledged that dependence on external sources for certain items would continue for some time until alternatives were developed or the required resources became available domestically. Furthermore, in todays complex technological environment, we often discuss long supply chains...There are, in fact, certain items for which a degree of external dependence will persist for some time. We must accept this reality, at least until we find alternatives or until such resources become available within our own country, Singh said. He emphasised that nearly a decade of experience should enable India to identify critical supply chain vulnerabilities, assess its dependence on external sources and prioritise areas where self-reliance was most urgently needed. After nearly a decade of experience, we should now be able to identify where our supply chain vulnerabilities lie. It is essential to know which items we source from outside, where our dependency is greatest, and in which areas we must first achieve self-reliance. Furthermore, we need to determine how these vulnerabilities should be addressed, he added. (ANI)
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