![](https://bharatshakti.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LT-BSI-Defence.gif")
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday warned that any future terrorist attack originating from Pakistan would invite a stronger Indian response, saying operations such as Sindoor, the Balakot airstrikes and surgical strikes marked a decisive shift from diplomatic condemnation to action against the sources of terrorism.
Addressing a security conclave in New Delhi on October 15, Singh said India’s commitment to dialogue and peaceful coexistence should not be mistaken for weakness. He claimed that since 2014, the “shelf life” of most terrorists had fallen to less than a year, with security forces neutralising them within 12 months of their taking up arms.
Singh also flagged the changing character of security threats, warning that hybrid warfare, disinformation, cyber disruption and emerging forms of terrorism were making the security environment increasingly complex. He described the challenge as the “5D Security Threat” – disinformation, destabilisation, disruption, deception and destruction – and pointed to the growing difficulty of detecting lone-wolf attacks and what he termed “white-collar terrorism”.
On defence manufacturing, Singh said production had risen to a record more than Rs 1.78 lakh crore from around Rs 40,000 crore in 2014. Defence exports had climbed to an all-time high of Rs 39,000 crore from Rs 686 crore in 2013-14, with Indian defence products now reaching nearly 100 countries.
The government aims to raise defence production to Rs 2 lakh crore in the current financial year and Rs 3 lakh crore by 2029, while targeting exports worth Rs 50,000 crore by 2029.
Singh attributed the expansion to changes in licensing rules, improved ease of doing business and reforms in procurement. More than 500 companies are now engaged in defence manufacturing, he said, with hundreds of industrial licences issued to expand domestic capacity.
Singh cited Operation Sindoor as evidence of the armed forces’ growing confidence in advanced indigenous systems, including the Akash missile system and BrahMos, alongside other modern equipment. He said the operation demonstrated the contribution of domestic defence manufacturing to operational capability and national security.
The armed forces have issued five positive indigenisation lists covering 509 items, including equipment, weapon systems and platforms, while a sixth list is being prepared for release, he said.
Defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs) have identified 5,012 items for indigenisation, including sub-systems, spares and components. Of these, 3,255 have been indigenised, according to the Minister.
Singh also said 159 of the 175 ammunition variants used by the armed forces were now being produced domestically, representing more than 90 per cent indigenisation by variant count.
India has also emerged as an exporter of bulletproof jackets to more than 100 countries. Singh said the country was the fourth in the world to establish a national standard for such jackets aligned with international norms.
Team Bharatshakti
