In a major boost to India’s defence manufacturing capabilities and the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative, Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurated the third production line of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk1A and the second production line of the Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40) at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s (HAL) Nashik facility on Friday. The event was aptly themed “Flight of Self-Reliance.”
Listing out other feats achieved due to the Government’s consistent efforts, Raksha Mantri stated that annual defence production, which was worth Rs 46,429 crore in 2014-15, has surged to a record figure of over Rs 1.50 lakh crore in 2024-25, with exports touching an all-time high of Rs 25,000 crore from less than Rs 1,000 crore a decade ago. “We have now set a target of increasing defence manufacturing to Rs 3 lakh crore and exports to Rs 50,000 crore by 2029,” he added.
The Defence Minister also flagged off the first LCA Mk1A aircraft manufactured at the Nashik division, marking a new chapter in India’s indigenous fighter jet production.