Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav on Sunday, 5 July 2026, highlighted India's growing defence export footprint, stating that defence products manufactured in India are now being exported to more than 90 countries. The remark underscores the broader national push toward indigenous defence production under the Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat frameworks.

Context

In his post on X, Dr. Yadav wrote: 'Aaj Bharat mein banne wale raksha utpad 90 se adhik deshon mein niryat ho rahe hain' — 'Today, defence products manufactured in India are being exported to more than 90 countries.' The statement reflects a narrative that senior BJP leaders have consistently amplified: India's transformation from a dominant defence importer to an emerging global defence supplier.

The post comes amid a sustained government effort to publicise milestones in the defence sector, with ministers and chief ministers across BJP-governed states regularly echoing national achievement messaging on social media platforms.

Policy Backdrop

India's defence export journey has been shaped by a series of structural policy shifts. The Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy (2020) set an explicit target of achieving $5 billion in annual defence exports by 2025. Successive revisions to the Defence Procurement Procedure — in 2016 and 2020 — introduced 'Make in India' and 'Buy Indian' procurement categories designed to channel orders toward domestic manufacturers.

Official data indicate that annual defence exports, which stood at under $300 million in the mid-2010s, had crossed $1.5 billion by 2020, with the number of destination countries rising steadily over the same period. The Ministry of Defence has been the nodal body driving both production targets and export-promotion diplomacy, supported by increased private-sector participation and higher allocations for research and development.

The Make in India initiative, launched in 2014, identified defence as a priority sector for indigenisation. The Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign, announced in 2020, deepened that commitment by introducing positive indigenisation lists — categories of equipment that must be sourced domestically rather than imported.

Stakeholders and Impact

The expansion of India's defence export base has benefited a wide range of stakeholders. Large public-sector undertakings such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited have been primary exporters, but the growth of private-sector and MSME participation in the defence supply chain has broadened the industrial base considerably. State governments, including that of Madhya Pradesh, have sought to attract defence manufacturing investment through dedicated defence corridors and industrial parks.

For importing countries — spread across South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America and beyond — India's emergence as a supplier offers an alternative to traditional arms exporters, often at competitive price points and with favourable financing arrangements. Diplomatic efforts have increasingly paired defence supply agreements with broader bilateral cooperation frameworks.

What's Next

The Ministry of Defence is expected to release updated annual defence export statistics that will either confirm or contextualise the figure of exports to more than 90 countries cited in the post. Upcoming events such as Aero India and DefExpo are likely platforms where new bilateral defence cooperation agreements will be announced, potentially adding further destination countries to India's export map. The trajectory suggests India will continue to position itself as a reliable and cost-competitive defence supplier to the developing world, even as it works to close remaining technology gaps in high-end platforms.