Rajnath Singh releases ‘Raksha’ blueprint for India’s defence diplomacy
The Ministry of Defence released the 'RAKSHA' document, a comprehensive framework outlining India's roadmap for global defence partnerships over the next decade
The document is structured around four broad pillars: Strategic Partnerships, Capacity Building, Indigenous Defence Exports, and Maritime Security
It seeks deeper bilateral and multilateral security cooperation, expanded joint military exercises and training, promotion of Make-in-India defence platforms in overseas markets, and a larger maritime security role for India
The document positions India as a "Net Security Provider" and "First Responder" in the Indian Ocean Region and aims to strengthen India's standing as a reliable global defence manufacturing hub
India's Maritime Doctrine — SAGAR and MAHASAGAR
India's Net Security Provider role in the RAKSHA document builds on the SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) doctrine, articulated in March 2015, which sought cooperative maritime security, economic connectivity and sustainable resource management across the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
The RAKSHA document's maritime security pillar operationalises the long-standing SAGAR/MAHASAGAR vision into a formal 10-year defence-diplomacy framework, linking India's naval outreach to its broader foreign policy goals.
Defence Exports and the Aatmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliance) Push
Promoting indigenous defence platforms abroad is one of RAKSHA's four pillars, tying defence diplomacy to India's domestic defence manufacturing and export ambitions under Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
Key Details
- India's defence exports rose from ₹686 crore in FY 2013-14 to a record ₹38,424 crore in FY 2025-26
- The government has set a target of ₹50,000 crore in defence exports by 2029-30
- In FY 2025-26, Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) and other public-sector entities accounted for around 76% of defence production, with the private sector contributing about 24%
- Indian defence exports currently reach over 80 countries
RAKSHA frames defence exports not merely as an economic/industrial goal but as an instrument of diplomacy — using platform sales, training and joint production to deepen strategic partnerships with importing countries.
Defence Procurement and Cooperation Framework — DAC, DPP/DAP and Joint Production
India's defence acquisition and cooperation processes are governed by an institutional framework distinct from the diplomacy-focused RAKSHA document, but the two intersect where "joint development and production" is pursued with partner countries.
Key Details
- The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by the Raksha Mantri (Defence Minister), is the apex body according approval-in-principle for major capital defence procurements
- The Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 (earlier Defence Procurement Procedure, DPP) categorises procurement routes such as Buy (Indian-IDDM), Buy (Indian), Buy & Make, and Buy (Global)
- Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by the Prime Minister, approves high-value and strategically significant defence acquisitions
- Joint development/production agreements with foreign partners (e.g., co-development of engines, missile systems) typically fall under government-to-government or intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) distinct from routine capital acquisition
RAKSHA's capacity-building and strategic-partnership pillars are expected to generate more such joint development/production arrangements, which will still need to be processed through the DAC-DAP-CCS procurement architecture domestically.
- RAKSHA document released: 3 September 2026, by the Ministry of Defence
- Four pillars: Strategic Partnerships, Capacity Building, Indigenous Defence Exports, Maritime Security
- India's defence exports: ₹38,424 crore (FY 2025-26, an all-time high), up from ₹686 crore in FY 2013-14
- Defence export target: ₹50,000 crore by 2029-30
- Defence exports reach: 80+ countries (FY 2025-26)
- DPSU/public sector share of defence production (FY 2025-26): ~76%; private sector share: ~24%
- SAGAR doctrine announced: March 2015; extended to MAHASAGAR: March 2025
- IFC-IOR established: 2018, at Gurugram