India to invest ₹30,000cr in MALE drones, focus on local

India Sep 22, 2025

India is gearing up to buy medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) drones, with a ₹30,000 crore investment planned, as recently revealed by Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh.
The move is part of a push to make more defense gear at home—aiming for 75% of spending to stay domestic—and strengthen the country's defense capabilities.

Singh's vision for defense budget overhaul

Singh also laid out a bold plan for the next 15 years: over $35 billion in annual defense spending, focused on filling key gaps like advanced fighter jets and new surveillance planes.
He's calling for India's defense budget to rise from under 2% to between 2.5 and 3% of GDP to better tackle future security challenges.