Defence R&D and government-industry collaborations form the foundation for a startup-friendly ecosystem that advances defence technologies.

Private-sector involvement and ongoing R&D aim to broaden indigenisation and future-proof the defence industrial base.

The budget signals a shift toward greater private-sector participation, cost competitiveness, and large-scale production in defence manufacturing.

Budget and policy shifts reflect lessons from Operation Sindoor, aligning weapon choices with strategic manufacturing priorities and the future of non-contact warfare.

The defence budget prioritizes private-sector involvement to accelerate production, reduce costs, and develop futuristic products for defence manufacturing.

It emphasizes private sector participation to lower costs and boost production, with a focus on future warfare technologies and non-contact warfare capabilities.

India should prioritise meeting security and technology requirements over balancing relations with the US and Russia, ensuring defence partnerships serve national needs.

India’s defence strategy is driven by national security needs and technology requirements, not by global geopolitical shifts, and will progress accordingly.

While defence ties with the US should deepen, India must maintain its own strategic requirements and avoid letting geopolitics override these needs.

The government is boosting R&D through collaborations among the defence ministry, science and technology, and biotechnology departments to foster a defence startup ecosystem.

An innovation ecosystem backed by the defence ministry, DST, and DBT is developing a robust defence startup pipeline, with venture capital funding viewed as insufficient for the potential.

The 2026-27 Union Budget defence outlay is Rs 7.85 lakh crore, with Rs 2.19 lakh crore allocated for capital expenditure toward weapons, aircraft, ships, and other hardware, signaling a move toward large-scale production and indigenisation.