From a nation that once depended heavily on foreign arsenals to one that is steadily building its own and shipping them abroad — Union Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh captured that arc in a pointed post on X on Thursday, 29 October 2026, crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership for what he called a historic journey in Indian defence.

Writing in Hindi, Singh stated: 'रक्षा क्षेत्र में आयात पर निर्भरता से निर्यात की बढ़ती ताकत तक, भारत ने एक ऐतिहासिक सफर तय किया है' — 'From dependence on imports in the defence sector to the growing strength of exports, India has completed a historic journey.' He went on to credit indigenous defence manufacturing, modern technology, and innovation with giving India 'a new identity on the global defence stage.'

The policy shift Singh is pointing to

The arc Singh describes did not happen overnight. When the Make in India initiative launched in 2014, defence was designated a priority sector — the ambition being to absorb technology, build domestic supply chains, and wean the armed forces off chronic import dependence. By 2020, the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan hardened that ambition into policy: a negative import list for defence items was notified, ring-fencing a growing catalogue of weapons and systems for domestic production only.

Successive Union Budgets from 2019 onward raised indigenisation targets and layered in export promotion incentives, nudging public-sector defence giants and private players alike toward global competitiveness. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has been central to this effort, driving indigenous programmes in missiles, radar systems, and aerospace platforms.

Why a Textiles Minister is talking defence

Giriraj Singh holds the Textiles portfolio, yet his post is entirely about defence — a reminder that senior BJP leaders routinely amplify the government's broader economic-nationalism narrative across sectoral lines. The message aligns squarely with the party's Atmanirbhar Bharat communication frame, which positions India's strategic self-reliance not as one ministry's story but as a civilisational pivot. For a Lok Sabha MP from Begusarai, Bihar, championing national manufacturing also carries domestic resonance: Bihar's MSME base is among those that benefit from defence supply-chain deepening.

Import dependence to export ambition — the bigger picture

India spent decades ranked among the world's top arms importers. The policy architecture built since 2014 — private-sector entry, foreign direct investment liberalisation, defence corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, and technology transfer mandates — has begun to shift that calculus. The direction of travel is toward export competitiveness, with Indian platforms drawing interest from partner nations in Southeast Asia, Africa, and beyond.

Upcoming Union Budget announcements on defence production targets, India's participation in international air shows, and any new bilateral manufacturing agreements will be the next real tests of how far that journey has actually gone.