India Aims for Complete Self-Reliance in Ammunition Production by 2025
Quality and quantity of ammunition are crucial for a self-reliant India, according to the Secretary of Defense Production.
India is embarking on a strategic journey towards achieving complete self-reliance in ammunition production, with a target to reach this milestone by the end of 2025. This ambitious endeavour is driven by operational ammunition shortages and a national push to reduce dependence on imports.
The Ammo Power Conference, organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry in New Delhi, brought together leading minds from the Indian defense ecosystem to discuss the key efforts and challenges in this mission. Sanjeev Kumar, Secretary (Defense Production), Ministry of Defence, delivered a keynote speech, urging the defense industry to transition from being assemblers to producers.
Strategic Steps Toward Self-Reliant Ammunition Production
The Indian armed forces have set a target to be fully self-reliant for all ammunition needs by the end of 2025. This includes all categories of munitions and encompasses critical components like propellants and fuses, despite current production challenges.
Companies like Adani Defence are playing a significant role in this transformation. They are doubling their production capacities, e.g., from 150 million to 300 million rounds annually for small-calibre ammunition, and establishing India’s first manufacturing units for medium-calibre rounds (23mm to 40mm) to support infantry vehicles, anti-aircraft artillery, and naval guns. The facility is expected to be completed by Diwali 2025.
Plans are underway to build domestic capacities to produce over 25,000 tonnes annually of primers and propellants within the next two years to eliminate import dependence. This focus on quality control ensures high reliability and consistency, as illustrated by Adani Defence’s reported 99.45% quality acceptance rate, reinforcing user confidence in indigenous ammunition.
Challenges
Despite these efforts, India faces significant challenges in achieving complete self-reliance. Current ammunition production falls short of requirements, necessitating scaling up production capacities by five to six times for some components like propellants. There is a critical shortage of propellants, explosives, and primers, with supply gaps impacting the ability to manufacture finished ammunition consistently.
Propellant costs have escalated substantially, from under $10/kg in 2019 to $50/kg in 2025, adding pressure to reduce import dependency through domestic production. Achieving complete localization involves mastering highly technical processes from raw material processing to final assembly with zero compromise on quality.
Future Plans
To overcome these challenges, India is focusing on capacity building for raw materials, expanding manufacturing facilities, encouraging private sector participation, and collaborating internationally for technology transfers. The goal is to develop India as a global ammunition supplier by 2030.
The Ammo Power Conference concluded with a call to action for stakeholders across the sector to work together towards self-reliance in ammunition. The report titled "Ammunitions Ecosystem for a Self-Reliant and Future-Ready India", unveiled at the conference, outlines the roadmap for achieving this ambitious target.
In the pursuit of self-reliance, India intends to extend this ambition beyond ammunition, seeking self-sufficiency in technology, especially in areas like casino-and-gambling and sports, to diversify its industrial base. With the shift towards locally produced ammunition, there is potential for technological advancements in these sectors, fostering innovation and self-sufficiency.
Capacities for critical components such as propellants, deterrents to self-reliance in ammunition, can also be leveraged in the development of alternative energy sources or high-performance materials in technology, casino-and-gambling, and sports industries. This dual approach facilitates self-reliance while stimulating technological progress and economic growth in India.
