How far has Make in India aided defence and pharma self-reliance?

Launched in 2014, Make in India made defence and pharmaceuticals flagship sectors of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, backed by FDI liberalisation and the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme [1][3]. It has delivered substantially in output and exports, but only partially in critical inputs and technology depth.

Defence: significant, largely production-side gains

• Annual defence production touched a record ₹1.78 lakh crore in FY 2025-26, a 15.6% rise over the previous year and nearly four times the FY 2013-14 figure of ₹43,746 crore [1].
• Defence exports reached an all-time high of ₹38,424 crore in FY 2025-26, up 62.66% [1] — India now supplies, rather than only buys, defence equipment [2].

Pharma: scale achieved, depth uneven

• India is the third-largest producer by volume but only 11th by value, with turnover of ₹4,71,898 crore in 2024-25 and supplies to over 200 countries [2].
• Domestic medical device manufacturing grew 48.2% to ₹41,500 crore (2024-25), with exports rising from $2.5 bn to $4.1 bn [2].

How far it falls short

• Input dependence persists: China accounts for 70% or more of India's imports of several critical APIs; PLI has created domestic capacity for just 28 of 41 identified critical products [5].
• Narrow industrial base: DPSUs still contribute about 76% of defence production, the private sector only 24% [1]; the volume-value gap in pharma similarly reflects low-margin generics rather than patented innovation [2].
• Incentives under-utilised: of the ₹1.91 lakh crore PLI outlay across 14 sectors, only ₹28,748 crore stood disbursed by 31 December 2025 [4].
• Structural limit: manufacturing has stayed near 16–18% of GVA for two decades [6], as NITI Aayog's diagnosis of firms unable to scale up remains unaddressed [7].

Make in India has therefore advanced self-reliance considerably in assembly and exports, but only modestly in inputs, design and R&D. Deepening bulk-drug parks, widening private participation in defence design, and tying skilling to PLI sectors would convert production milestones into genuine strategic autonomy.