India's defence research, production and procurement ecosystem rests on a network of government organisations, public sector undertakings and a growing base of private industry, all functioning under the Ministry of Defence. Together they design, develop, manufacture and sustain equipment for the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force, from missiles and radars to aircraft, warships and armoured vehicles.

Key facts

  • Apex research body: Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), founded 1958, headquartered in New Delhi
  • Major defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs): Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Cochin Shipyard, Goa Shipyard and BEML
  • Ordnance manufacturing: the erstwhile Ordnance Factory Board was corporatised in October 2021 into seven new DPSUs, including Munitions India Limited, Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited and Yantra India Limited
  • All DPSUs and DRDO function under the Ministry of Defence, led by the Raksha Mantri (Defence Minister)
  • Indigenisation is driven by the Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives, backed by positive indigenisation lists that phase out imports of listed items

Research and production pillars

DRDO anchors research and development through a network of roughly fifty laboratories covering aeronautics, missiles, armaments, electronics, naval systems, life sciences and materials. Its designs are typically transferred to production agencies: HAL builds aircraft and helicopters such as the Tejas and Dhruv; BEL manufactures radars, sonars and electronic warfare systems; BDL produces guided missiles; and the shipyards construct warships and submarines for the Navy and Coast Guard.

Corporatised ordnance factories

Until 2021, ammunition, weapons, vehicles and clothing for the armed forces were produced by the government-run Ordnance Factory Board, operating dozens of factories across the country. The Board was dissolved and its forty-one units regrouped into seven independent DPSUs, covering munitions, armoured vehicles, weapons and equipment, troop comforts, opto-electronics, parachutes and general engineering stores, with the stated aim of improving accountability, efficiency and export competitiveness.

Make in India and private industry

Since the mid-2010s, defence manufacturing has opened progressively to Indian private companies and joint ventures through delicensing, foreign investment reforms and dedicated defence industrial corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Private firms now build components, subsystems and, increasingly, complete platforms alongside the DPSUs, while DRDO transfers technology developed in its laboratories to both public and private manufacturers under its Transfer of Technology scheme.

Collectively, this ecosystem underpins India's push toward defence self-reliance, with rising indigenous content in frontline platforms and expanding defence exports to dozens of countries.