India's defence exports surged to Rs 38,424 crore in FY26: Rajnath Singh

New Delhi: India has emerged as a major power in global defence manufacturing, with exports of military hardware surging to Rs 38,424 crore in 2025-26 driven by a significant push toward indigenous production, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday.

In a message to the armed forces on the eve of Independence Day, Singh also said that the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has granted approval to projects worth more than Rs 8.75 lakh crore in the last one year as the government is determined to modernise the military.

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"India is no longer just a country that meets only its own security needs; rather, we have become an emerging power in the field of global defence manufacturing and defence exports," he said.

"Our efforts have given a new direction to defence production. We have reduced our dependence on imports and provided unprecedented momentum to indigenous manufacturing," he said.

Along with modernisation of the armed forces, strengthening border areas is also the government topmost priority, Singh said.

"In the defence sector, the most impressive proof of India's self-reliance is our defence exports. From a mere Rs 686 crore in defence exports in the year 2013-14, it has now reached Rs 38,424 crore in the financial year 2025-26," he said.

"That means, in about a decade, our defence exports have taken a leap of more than 5,500 per cent," he added.