India keen on more American tie ups in defence space: Defence Min Rajnath Singh

The interaction, which was organised by the US India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), was attended by a large number of US defence and technology companies, where Rajnath Singh pitched India's investment climate and welcomed greater collaboration with American manufacturers, according to reports.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, at the roundtable, emphasised some primary factors, including a skilled labour base, robust pro-Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and pro-business ecosystem, and a large domestic market.

India is looking forward to working with American companies for capability building in the defence space with a focus on technology and industrial partnerships, Singh added at the roundtable.

Earlier, Rajnath Singh discussed ongoing defence projects between India and US with the National Security Advisor (NSA) to the American government, Jake Sullivan, according to a press statement.

Geopolitical situations and certain key regional security issues too were discussed in the meeting, the press statement added.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that there was 'fruitful interaction' with leading American defence companies at the roundtable, and he has invited them to work with Indian partners to 'accelerate' the Make in India programme in achieving self reliance in defence production.

"Indian and US companies will co-develop and co-produce for the world", Singh added.

Both countries have signed two key pacts - one called the Security of Supply Arrangements (SOSA), and the other one being an agreement for positioning Indian officers at key US commands, which Minister Rajnath Singh has called as 'pathbreaking developments', reports Moneycontrol.

The Defence Minister also highlighted India's defence indigenisation efforts at a separate event in US addressing the Indian diaspora, where he outlined the efforts toward self-reliance in defence, and the introduction of a Positive Indigenisation List for over 5,000 items which will not be imported, adding that a significant increase in defence exports is underway, which has reached over Rs 21,000 crore, as reported by Moneycontrol.

As per reports, the value of India's defence production in FY14 was roughly Rs 70,000 crore, which by FY23 had risen to Rs 1.26 lakh crore.

This growth has been sharply higher by 60 percent over a period of five years, with a significant increase in the contribution of the private sector, at 20.8 percent of the total production in FY24, according to reports.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also highlighted how India and the United States are natural allies, "destined to be strong partners," with expectations of India becoming the third-largest economy by 2027.

The robust growth in India's startup ecosystem, Singh added, was due to government policies promoting innovation.