'India to release Rs 30,000 cr RFP for MALE class drones,' says Defence Secretary Rajesh Singh

Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh at Network18 Reforms Reloaded 2025 summit in Delhi

Rajesh Kumar Singh, Defence Secretary of India, speaking at Network18’s Reforms Reloaded programme, outlined India’s upcoming defence priorities.

He announced that the government is preparing to release a Request for Proposal (RFP) worth Rs 30,000 crore for Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) category drones.

“We are going to release an RFP of Rs 30,000 crore of Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) category drones,” Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh announced at the Network18 Reforms Reloaded 2025 summit in Delhi.

Referring to lessons from recent wars, Singh stressed the need for a wider industrial base. “In recent wars, the number of missiles being fired are huge. India followed a different path and we used them in a calibrated way. But every time duration can’t be curtailed. So we need a diversified large industrial base,” he said.

Speaking to Network18’s Parikshit Luthra during the session “Dialogue on Defence: An Agenda for Self Reliance”, Singh said the government would continue to push for self-reliance in defence manufacturing. “We will have $25-30 billion of capex every year in defence over the next decade. Our current plans are that at least 75% of capex would be spent within country.”

On indigenisation, Singh emphasised, “We will double down on our indigenisation efforts and we won’t hopefully go below that 75% mark.” He added that in areas with high technology readiness, India would move to “entirely indigenous procurement.”

The Defence Secretary highlighted priority areas for investment including standout vehicles, UAVs, underwater drones, satellite imagery and precision munitions. "We will invest in different types of standout vehicles, drones, UAVs, underwater drones, satellite imagery, precision munitions, where India doesn’t have technology," he said.

Acknowledging capacity constraints in state-run firms, Singh said, “Missiles are made by BDL, munitions are made by MIL, but their capacity is limited. Private sector has been unable to invest in these, so we are trying to move away from order reservations.”

On procurement reforms, Singh outlined a shift from nomination-based contracts to competitive bidding. “Idea is to go from nomination based contracts to open bidding and price discovery. We are trying to create a section for start-ups, we will give assurances to start-ups for five years in procurement,” he said. He added that by December, the government would make capital expenditure documentation “much more simple and friendly to private sector and start-ups.”

Budget absorption has remained robust. “Last year, we exhausted our budget. We will be able to exhaust this year’s budget this year as well and be able to do Rs 2-3 lakh crore of projects,” Singh said. He added that a “10 percent increase is adequate to meet requirements” while the medium-term goal could be “17-18 percent increase over the next five years.”

On air power capability, Singh noted, “If we don’t have 5th gen aircraft immediately, we can offset advantage by having enough number of 4 and 4.5 gen fighters and equipping them with weapons.”

Highlighting challenges in production capacity, Singh noted, “Missiles are made by BDL, munitions are made by MIL, but their capacity is limited. Private sector has been unable to invest in these, so we are trying to move away from order reservations.”

India’s defence partnerships will be guided by operational needs, Singh underlined. “Whichever country is ready to share critical technology we can go with those countries. We will go by our service requirements. We will have enough opportunities for both the US and Russia to participate.”

Looking ahead, Singh revealed major contracts on the anvil. “We are about to sign contracts worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore and we can do another Rs 75,000 crore worth of contracts. Last year we did Rs 2.09 lakh crore, we will do at least that much if not more.”