Operation Sindoor highlighted the role of indigenous technology and inter-service synergy. Evaluate India's progress towards Aatmanirbharta in defence and the remaining gaps.

Aatmanirbharta in defence means India designs, builds and maintains its own military systems. During Operation Sindoor (May 2025), Indian-made drone, layered air-defence and electronic-warfare systems were used in combat [1]. The Raksha Mantri credited that success to synergy and advanced weaponry [8]. India has made real progress, but it rests on a narrow base.

Progress achieved

• Record production: Defence production reached ₹1.78 lakh crore in FY 2025-26, up 15.6% over the previous year [2].
• Export surge: Exports rose 62.66% to ₹38,424 crore, and the number of exporters grew from 128 to 145 [3].
• Policy support: 75% of the capital budget is reserved for Indian suppliers, and counter-drone systems are in that category [4].
• Proven in combat: Sindoor showed that Indian systems work in real conflict, not only in trials [1].

Remaining gaps

• Mostly a public-sector effort: Public sector units make about 76% of defence output [2]. DPSU exports grew 151%, but private exports grew only 14%, so the private share fell to 45.16% [3]. The drones and AI the Army now wants come mostly from private start-ups.
• Hidden imports: Even Indian-made DPSU products had about 22–26% import content between 2018-19 and 2020-21 [5].
• Little money for new equipment: The Army's revenue-to-capital spending ratio is 80:20, against the Standing Committee's ideal of 60:40. In 2022-23, modernisation got only 8% of the Army budget [6].
• Jointness lags behind: Only 35% of Joint Doctrines were completed in 2025, and theatre commands are still being set up [7][4]. The synergy seen in Sindoor is not yet built into permanent structures.

Overall, India has moved from depending on imports to producing and exporting at scale, but the base is still narrow and short of funds. The next steps are a multi-year capital plan moving towards the 60:40 benchmark, yearly disclosure of import content, success measured by the private sector's share, and a clear timeline for theatre commands. Done together, these would make self-reliance last and match the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision and SDG 9 (industry and innovation).