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Anil Agarwal, Chairman, Vedanta, has shared a LinkedIn post highlighting the growing strategic importance of defence self-sufficiency amid evolving global geopolitics. Emphasising that domestic manufacturing capability has historically been central to national strength, he called for modernisation and greater private sector participation to unlock the full potential of India’s defence production ecosystem. In the post, Agarwal reflected on India’s long-standing emphasis on defence preparedness, noting that throughout history, strong indigenous defence capabilities formed the foundation of secure and prosperous nations. He highlighted India’s extensive network of defence production facilities and described existing ordnance factories as critical national assets that can play a decisive role in achieving self-reliance in defence equipment.

Drawing from his visits to ordnance factories in Jabalpur and Bhusawal, Agarwal praised their scale, technological adoption and skilled workforce, stating that such infrastructure is difficult to replicate quickly and must be leveraged through modernisation and innovation-led growth.

In his post, he wrote:

“In today’s geopolitics, there is a renewed focus on the need for self-sufficiency in defence equipment. If we look at India’s history, the most important thing for our Kings and rulers was their defence equipment, whether swords, horses or cannons. This was the foundation of their strength even though they were peace-loving people.

Today, we have a most unique ecosystem of defence production factories across India. Of the 41 ordnance factories, which produce arms and ammunition, I have visited two, in Jabalpur and Bhusawal. I was simply amazed at their scale and their adoption of technology. They have very competent people in the management. I have not seen many factories like these anywhere.

It is almost impossible to build such infrastructure quickly, so these existing factories hold the key to achieving self-reliance in defence equipment. What we need to do is modernize them in the best way so that they can innovate and increase production by 10 times. Private sector participation can unleash this capacity.

India needs the best equipment made domestically for land, air and water for its own security. We can even develop exports and make this sector a massive contributor to GDP and jobs. We already have the infrastructure of these factories. These factories are like towns in themselves. We have the vision of our Prime Minister. What remains is execution. With the government as partner, the private sector is ready to put its hand up and do this for the nation. Their privatization should be like Air India – smooth, as time is of the essence.