Seventy five percent of the budget earmarked to acquire weapons systems has been reserved for domestic manufacturers in India, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh stated.
Singh added that the amount that has been allocated to purchase arms and ammunition from local production units stands at approximately $12.5 billion for the current financial year.
"We are the first government which imposed restrictions on itself for the import of weapons. We released five positive indigenization lists, under which 509 equipment have been identified, the manufacturing of which will now take place in India," Singh noted on the sidelines of the India Manufacturing Show in Bengaluru.
"These steps will strengthen our MSMEs and make them 'Aatmanirbhar (self-reliant)'," he added.
In recent years, India's Defense Ministry has put a lot of thrust into developing a variety of military equipment in the country.
Last year, India commissioned its first-ever indigenous aircraft carrier, Vikrant, joining a select group of nations that can produce such a warship in their shipyards.
Besides that, India has been locally manufacturing helicopters, fighter jets, rocket launchers, artillery, etc.