The North News
New Delhi, August 23
India will manufacture fifth-generation fighter aircraft in collaboration with France, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced during the World Leaders Forum in New Delhi. He said India was also preparing to begin joint production of aircraft engines with French aerospace firm Safran, calling it a major step in strengthening indigenous defence capabilities.
“Our Tejas aircraft is already a shining example of India’s indigenous defence production. We have now taken steps towards making fifth-generation fighter jets and engines in India,” he said while addressing the gathering on August 22.
The Defence Minister highlighted the rapid expansion of India’s defence sector, noting that exports had grown from ₹686 crore in 2013-14 to ₹23,622 crore in 2024-25, with products now supplied to nearly 100 countries. He added that the government aimed to achieve ₹30,000 crore in defence exports this year and ₹50,000 crore by 2029.
Domestic defence production has also tripled over the past decade, rising from ₹40,000 crore in 2014 to more than ₹1.5 lakh crore in 2024-25. Singh said it was on track to reach nearly ₹2 lakh crore this year. India has introduced five “positive indigenisation lists,” mandating local manufacturing of 509 weapons, systems and platforms. Defence public sector undertakings have issued their own lists covering more than 5,000 sub-systems and components. He said 75% of India’s defence capital procurement budget had now been reserved for Indian companies.
He stressed that self-reliance in defence was not only about reducing imports but also about creating a global supply chain. “When you Make in India, you make for the world,” he said, citing Airbus’s collaboration with Tata Aerospace to build C295 aircraft.
The Defence Minister also underscored the importance of Operation Sindoor in demonstrating India’s resolve against Pakistan, responding to recent remarks by Pakistan’s Army Chief comparing the two economies. “This is not just troll material but an admission. If one country builds an economy like a sports car while the other remains stuck in failure, it is their own doing,” he said.
The minister pointed to major policy reforms including higher FDI limits in defence, creation of industrial corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, and programmes such as iDEX to support startups. He said the defence budget had more than doubled over the past decade, reaching nearly ₹6.22 lakh crore in 2024-25.
Inviting global defence firms to partner with India, he said India’s civilisational ethos, economic rise, and young population positioned it to play a leading role in shaping a fair global order. “The measure of strength is not in the ability to command, but in the capacity to care; not in the pursuit of narrow interest, but in the commitment to global good,” he said.
