NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday unveiled ‘RAKSHA’, a 10-year defence diplomacy framework outlining India’s strategic vision for expanding defence partnerships, strengthening military cooperation and promoting indigenous defence exports amid an evolving global security environment.
Released in New Delhi, the document seeks to align India’s national security objectives with deeper bilateral and multilateral engagement, while positioning defence diplomacy as an important instrument of the country’s foreign policy.
The framework places emphasis on strategic partnerships, capacity building, indigenous defence exports and maritime security, according to the Ministry of Defence.
Under the strategic partnerships pillar, India will seek to deepen bilateral and multilateral security cooperation with partner countries. The capacity-building component envisages greater emphasis on joint military exercises, training programmes and exchange of best practices with friendly nations.
The document also seeks to advance India’s defence manufacturing ambitions by promoting Make-in-India defence platforms and systems for exports, with the stated objective of establishing the country as a reliable global defence manufacturing hub.
Maritime security forms another major component of the framework, with India seeking to strengthen its role as a Net Security Provider and First Responder in the Indian Ocean Region.
The Ministry said the document provides an actionable vision for the next decade and is intended to reinforce India’s role in supporting peace, stability and a rule-based international order.
The release of the framework comes as India seeks to expand defence partnerships beyond conventional military cooperation, including through training, capacity building, defence production and maritime security cooperation.
The document identifies defence diplomacy as a core component of India’s foreign policy and seeks to provide a long-term framework for engagement with countries and multilateral partners.
Chief of the Army Staff General Dhiraj Seth, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, Secretary (Defence Production) Sanjeev Kumar, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs, Rudrendra Tandon, Vice Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, Vice Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Admiral Ajay Kochhar and Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee Air Marshal Tejinder Singh were among those present.
Senior officials from the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of External Affairs and National Security Council Secretariat also attended the event.
