Union Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, took to X to celebrate a milestone in India's defence indigenisation drive, sharing news of the Indian Army's successful test of the Divyastra Mk-1, a domestically developed intelligence and surveillance system, calling it a boost to the Make in India initiative.

Context

Singh shared the development via the NaMo App, framing it as a validation of the government's push for self-reliance in defence manufacturing. His post, written in Hindi, declared: 'Make in India ko mazbooti' — 'Strengthening Make in India' — before noting that the Army had conducted a successful test of the Divyastra Mk-1, described as carrying intelligence and surveillance capabilities.

While Singh serves as Union Minister of Textiles, his amplification of a defence achievement reflects the broader political messaging around Atmanirbhar Bharat, which cuts across all sectors of manufacturing, including defence.

Policy Backdrop

The Make in India programme, launched in September 2014, was designed to reduce the country's dependence on imported goods and build a competitive domestic manufacturing base — including in defence. The Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, announced in May 2020, sharpened this focus with dedicated defence indigenisation measures, including positive lists that restrict or ban imports of specific defence items to compel domestic sourcing.

The Defence Procurement Procedure 2020 further revised acquisition rules to give preference to domestically designed, developed, and produced platforms. Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems have been a priority area, as they were historically among the more import-dependent segments of the armed forces' equipment inventory.

Stakeholders and Impact

The Indian Army stands as the primary stakeholder, gaining a domestically developed surveillance asset that, if inducted, would reduce dependence on foreign intelligence and surveillance platforms. Domestic defence manufacturers and research establishments involved in the Divyastra Mk-1's development stand to benefit from the validation that a successful test provides, both in terms of credibility and future procurement prospects.

For the broader defence-industrial ecosystem, each successful indigenous test strengthens the case for allocating a greater share of the capital procurement budget to Indian suppliers, a stated goal under successive policy frameworks since 2014.

What's Next

The successful test is typically a precursor to extended user trials by the Army, after which a system may be considered for inclusion in the service's formal modernisation roadmap. Analysts and parliamentary committees tracking indigenisation targets will watch whether the Divyastra Mk-1 features in future Defence Budget allocations or in Standing Committee reports on indigenous procurement progress.

With India's defence indigenisation targets becoming a recurring benchmark in annual budget discussions, the Divyastra Mk-1 test adds another data point to the government's narrative of building sovereign military capability — a theme that senior leaders across ministries have consistently amplified.