'Zero tolerance against terrorism not just a statement': Rajnath Singh's message to Pakistan
The Ministry of Defence reiterated that India's counter-terrorism approach follows a "zero tolerance" doctrine, treating retaliatory military action against terror infrastructure as a standing line of policy rather than a one-off response.
Operation Sindoor, an armed forces operation targeting terror infrastructure following a terrorist attack, was cited as a demonstrated case of India's retaliatory military capability and use of indigenous defence technology, including integrated air-defence and precision-strike systems.
Official figures show India's annual defence production has reached a record level of approximately ₹1.78 lakh crore, with defence products now exported to nearly 100 countries.
Defence exports have grown sharply over the past decade, reaching over ₹38,000 crore in 2025-26, with a government target of ₹3 lakh crore in defence production by 2029 and ₹50,000 crore in exports by the same period.
India's Counter-Terrorism Doctrine and Retaliatory Doctrine Post-Operation Sindoor
India's counter-terrorism posture has evolved from primarily defensive/diplomatic responses toward a doctrine of overt, calibrated cross-border retaliatory strikes against terror infrastructure, a shift visible in operations following major terror attacks. Operation Sindoor (launched May 2025, in response to an April 2025 terror attack in Pahalgam) is cited as illustrative of this doctrine: precision strikes on terror infrastructure combined with an integrated multi-layered air-defence response to intercept retaliatory drone and missile attacks, conducted without crossing into a full-scale conventional war and reportedly without crossing the Line of Control or international boundary during the strike phase.
Key Details
- Systems reported as used in India's air-defence response include Akashteer — an indigenous, AI-enabled Air Defence Control and Reporting System developed by Bharat Electronics Limited with DRDO and ISRO, which networks radars, sensors, and command posts of the Army's air-defence units into a single automated picture — and the Akash short-range surface-to-air missile system, a DRDO-developed indigenous system.
- BrahMos, a supersonic cruise missile jointly developed by India and Russia (India's DRDO and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyeniya), including its air-launched variant integrated with the Su-30MKI fighter, was cited among the offensive systems used.
- The doctrine emphasises that retaliation for cross-border terrorism will be treated as a continuing "line of action," not a singular exception, a departure from purely defensive counter-terrorism postures of earlier decades.
Operation Sindoor is presented by the Ministry as institutional evidence of both India's retaliatory doctrine and the operational performance of indigenously developed/co-developed defence systems, linking counter-terrorism policy to the broader defence-indigenization narrative.
Defence Indigenization: Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat in the Defence Sector
"Make in India" (launched 2014) and the defence-specific push under "Atmanirbhar Bharat" (self-reliant India, accelerated post-2020) aim to reduce India's historic dependence on imported weapons systems by building domestic manufacturing capacity, easing FDI norms in defence, and reserving/positive-listing certain categories of equipment for indigenous-only procurement. Rising domestic defence production and export figures are used as the key performance indicators of this policy.
Key Details
- Annual defence production value has risen to a record ₹1.78 lakh crore, with a stated target of ₹3 lakh crore by 2029.
- Defence exports rose from ₹686 crore in 2013-14 to over ₹38,000 crore in 2025-26 — more than a 50-fold increase — with a ₹50,000 crore export target set for 2029.
- The Defence Acquisition Procedure categorises indigenous procurement routes as "Buy (Indian-IDDM)" (Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured — highest indigenous-content priority), "Buy (Indian)," "Buy and Make (Indian)," and "Buy (Global)," with successive Defence Acquisition Procedure/Defence Procurement Procedure revisions progressively prioritising indigenous-content categories.
- FDI in defence manufacturing is permitted up to 74% under the automatic route and up to 100% under the government route where it is likely to result in access to modern technology.
The cited production and export figures are framed as measurable outcomes of over a decade of indigenization policy, with Operation Sindoor's use of domestically developed/co-developed platforms offered as an operational validation of that policy rather than a standalone military event.
- India's annual defence production: approximately ₹1.78 lakh crore (record level); target of ₹3 lakh crore by 2029.
- Defence exports: over ₹38,000 crore in 2025-26, up from ₹686 crore in 2013-14; export target of ₹50,000 crore by 2029.
- Defence products now exported to nearly 100 countries.
- Operation Sindoor: launched May 2025 following an April 2025 terror attack in Pahalgam; involved indigenous/co-developed systems including Akashteer, Akash, and BrahMos.
- Akashteer: developed by Bharat Electronics Limited with DRDO and ISRO; automated Air Defence Control and Reporting System for the Indian Army.
- BrahMos: India-Russia joint venture supersonic cruise missile (DRDO and NPO Mashinostroyeniya).