I-Day: Modi wants India to be defence supplier to world; says focus on drones, anti-drones, hypersonics
In the Independence Day address delivered from the Red Fort, expanding domestic defence production was described as critical to strengthening India's strategic capability, with a call for India to move from being a defence importer to a global defence supplier.
Drones, anti-drone (counter-UAS) systems, hypersonic technology and cyber security were identified as priority areas for indigenous development.
The address noted that despite growth in domestic manufacturing, significant volumes of drone and counter-drone systems are still imported — either directly or through Indian intermediaries — with some foreign-origin systems being supplied with minimal domestic value addition (informally termed "white labelling").
The remarks reiterated the Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliance) framework for defence production as the policy vehicle for closing this indigenization gap.
Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 and the "Buy (Indian-IDDM)" Category
DAP 2020, effective from 1 October 2020, replaced the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2016 as India's primary framework for military procurement and is a key instrument of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan in defence. It restructured procurement categories with "Buy (Indian-IDDM)" — Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured — as the top priority category for capital acquisition.
Key Details
- Categories reserved exclusively for Indian vendors (FDI capped at 49%) include Buy (Indian-IDDM), Make I, Make II, and Production Agency for Design & Development.
- As of 2023-24, around 75% of India's capital defence procurement budget was allocated to domestic sources, up from 68% in 2022-23.
- DAP 2020 also introduced a "positive indigenization list" mechanism — items on the list can no longer be imported and must be sourced domestically after a notified date.
The address's emphasis on drones and anti-drone systems as indigenization priorities maps directly onto DAP 2020's Buy (Indian-IDDM) category, and the concern over "white labelling" points to a gap between the positive indigenization list's intent and ground-level procurement practice.
Defence Exports Growth — Rs 686 crore (FY2013-14) to Rs 38,424 crore (FY2025-26)
Defence exports are tracked by the Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence, as a headline indicator of the domestic defence-industrial base's competitiveness. Exports grew from under Rs 1,000 crore in FY2013-14 to a record Rs 23,622 crore in FY2024-25 (a 12.04% year-on-year rise over FY2023-24's Rs 21,083 crore), and further to a reported record of Rs 38,424 crore in FY2025-26.
Key Details
- India now exports defence platforms, ammunition and sub-systems to roughly 80-100 countries.
- In FY2024-25, the private sector contributed about 64% of exports (Rs 15,233 crore) and Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) about 36% (Rs 8,389 crore), with DPSU exports growing 42.85% year-on-year.
- The government's stated target (Ministry of Defence Atmanirbhar Bharat roadmap) is defence production of Rs 3 lakh crore and exports of Rs 50,000 crore by 2029.
The push for India to become a "global supplier" builds on this export trajectory, with drones, counter-drone systems and hypersonic platforms positioned as the next generation of exportable indigenous defence technology.
Hypersonic Weapons — Technology and India's Programme
Hypersonic weapons travel at speeds above Mach 5 and are broadly of two types: Hypersonic Glide Vehicles (HGVs), which are boosted by a rocket and then glide unpowered at hypersonic speed while manoeuvring to evade missile defences, and Hypersonic Cruise Missiles, which are powered throughout flight (typically by scramjet engines). Their manoeuvrability and low-altitude flight profile make them harder to intercept than conventional ballistic missiles.
Key Details
- DRDO conducted a successful flight trial of India's first long-range hypersonic missile (payload for ranges beyond 1,500 km, featuring a delta-winged HGV) in November 2024 from a maritime platform off Odisha.
- The Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRAShM) programme, also HGV-based, has been targeted for trial completion within two to three years as per DRDO's stated timeline.
- India is developing HGV capability as a successor/complement to the existing BrahMos supersonic cruise missile programme.
Identifying hypersonics as an area where India should "take the lead" reflects an active DRDO development pipeline, distinguishing India's current hypersonic posture from wholly aspirational or import-dependent capability.
Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) and India's Drone Policy Framework
Counter-drone (C-UAS) systems detect, track and neutralize hostile drones using radar, radio-frequency detection, electro-optical/infrared sensors, and either "soft-kill" (jamming, spoofing) or "hard-kill" (kinetic, laser, net) methods. India's domestic C-UAS development is guided by the Drone Rules, 2021 (liberalizing civil drone use) alongside a separate defence-procurement track for military counter-drone systems, driven in part by cross-border drone incursions along the western border.
Key Details
- The Ministry of Civil Aviation's Drone Rules, 2021 replaced the earlier Unmanned Aircraft System Rules, 2021, easing approvals and reducing the number of forms/permissions required for civil drone operation.
- Indigenous C-UAS systems such as DRDO's D4 (Drone Detect, Deter and Destroy) system have been inducted for VVIP and critical-installation security.
- The concern over imported systems being "white labelled" as indigenous relates to DAP 2020's indigenous-content verification requirements administered by the Department of Defence Production.
The address's specific call-out of import dependency in drones and counter-drones, despite a formal indigenization framework, highlights an implementation gap between policy (DAP 2020, positive indigenization lists) and actual procurement practice.
- Defence exports: Rs 686 crore (FY2013-14) to Rs 23,622 crore (FY2024-25) to a reported Rs 38,424 crore (FY2025-26)
- DAP 2020 effective date: 1 October 2020, replacing DPP 2016
- Domestic-sourced share of capital defence procurement budget: ~75% (FY2023-24), up from 68% (FY2022-23)
- DRDO's first long-range hypersonic missile flight trial: November 2024, Odisha coast, HGV payload for 1,500+ km range
- Private sector share of FY2024-25 defence exports: ~64%; DPSU share: ~36% (up 42.85% year-on-year)