Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav on Sunday, 21 June 2026, amplified Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of India becoming a defence manufacturing powerhouse, citing the induction of more than 40 'Made in India' warships and submarines into the Indian Navy over recent years as evidence of accelerating progress.

Context

Quoting Prime Minister Modi directly, Dr. Yadav shared the message: 'Bharat 'nirmata' banna chahta hai. Jis din hum nirmata honge, us din hum 'nirnayak' bhi honge' — ('India wants to become a 'maker'. The day we become makers, we will also become 'decisive'.'). The post, which accompanied a video, frames domestic defence production not merely as an industrial goal but as a prerequisite for strategic sovereignty.

The figure of more than 40 indigenously built warships and submarines inducted into the Indian Navy is cited directly in the post as attributed to Prime Minister Modi. This claim is presented by Dr. Yadav as a marker of how swiftly India is moving toward self-reliance in defence.

Policy Backdrop

The messaging aligns with two flagship central government programmes. The Make in India initiative, launched in September 2014, set out to expand domestic manufacturing across sectors, with defence production as a key pillar. The Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, announced in May 2020, deepened this thrust by setting explicit targets for reducing defence imports and expanding the role of Indian shipyards and private firms.

A landmark in this journey was the commissioning of INS Vikrant in September 2022 — India's first indigenously built aircraft carrier — which signalled the country's capacity to design and deliver large-scale naval platforms. Updated defence procurement procedures introduced in 2016 also raised indigenous content requirements, giving domestic manufacturers a structural advantage in government contracts.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries of this policy direction are domestic shipyards — both public sector units such as Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders and Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, and a growing ecosystem of private defence manufacturers. The Indian Navy, which operates across the strategically vital Indian Ocean Region, stands to gain enhanced operational capability as its fleet increasingly comprises vessels built and maintained within the country.

For the broader economy, a thriving indigenous defence manufacturing base generates skilled employment, fosters technology transfer, and reduces the foreign exchange outflow associated with large-scale arms imports. Madhya Pradesh, with its developing industrial corridor, has been positioning itself to attract ancillary defence manufacturing investment aligned with these national goals.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to the progress of ongoing submarine acquisition programmes, including Project 75(I), which seeks to add advanced submarines to the Navy's fleet through domestic construction with technology transfer. The next Union Defence Budget session will be a key moment for parliamentary scrutiny of indigenization targets and spending allocations.

As India seeks to cement its role as a net security provider in the Indo-Pacific, the pace of indigenous warship inductions will remain a closely watched indicator of whether the country's ambition to be not just a 'maker' but a 'decisive' force in global affairs is translating from policy into hardware on the water.