NEW DELHI: Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday stressed the urgent need to build a drone production ecosystem in the country to ensure strategic autonomy, enhance defence preparedness and make the nation self-reliant in the field in view of present geopolitical uncertainties.“India must work in a mission mode to emerge as a global hub of indigenous drone manufacturing in the next few years,” Rajnath said during the inaugural session of the National Defence Industries Conclave here.He said the ongoing conflicts, ranging from the Russia-Ukraine was to the tensions between Iran and Israel, are proof that drones and counter-drone technologies are destined to play a pivotal role in future warfare, and ‘atmanirbharta’ in drone manufacturing is essential not merely at the product level, but at the component level as well.“From drone moulds to its software, engines and batteries, everything must be manufactured in India. This is no easy task. In most countries where drones are manufactured, a significant number of critical components are currently imported from China,” he said.Rajnath said that while the creation of any nation’s defence industrial ecosystem relies on contributions of large industries, MSMEs, startups and innovators, it is equally driven by a clear policy push from the govt, tailored to meet the country’s specific defence requirements. While he called for active contribution from the private sector, he extended the govt’s full support to transform India into a global hub for indigenous drone manufacturing.The minister described iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence) and ADITI (Acing Development of Innovative Technologies with iDEX) as game-changer initiatives, through which start-ups, innovators, and MSMEs are provided with the opportunity to develop novel solutions to meet the specific requirements of the defence forces.He said that “as of Feb 2026, 676 startups, MSMEs and individual innovators have joined the defence innovation ecosystem since inception of iDEX in 2018. In total, 548 contracts have been signed; and 566 challenges launched”. Of these, 58 prototypes have received clearance for procurement, valued around Rs 3,853 crore, he said.“Further, 45 procurement contracts have already been signed, worth nearly Rs 2,326 crore. These figures demonstrate that innovation is gradually materialising into tangible products and technologies, and the role played by our startups and MSMEs in this transformation is steadily gaining strength,” Rajnath said.