RAKSHA: India’s 10-Year Defence Diplomacy & Strategic Framework

Subject: GS 3: Defence & Security

Context: Recently, the Indian Defence Minister released ‘RAKSHA’, a 10-year strategic framework for India’s defence diplomacy and global security partnerships. 

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Key Pillars Highlighted Include

• Strategic Partnerships: Deepening bilateral and multilateral security cooperation.
  • Expands India’s defence engagement across the Indo-Pacific, Europe, West Asia, and Africa.
• Capacity Building: Enhancing joint military exercises, training programmes, and sharing best practices with friendly nations
• Indigenous Exports: Promoting Make-in-India defence platforms to establish the nation as a reliable global defence manufacturing hub
• Maritime security: Strengthening India’s role as a Net Security Provider and First Responder in the Indian Ocean Region.
• Net Security Provider: Reinforcing India’s role as a Net Security Provider and First Responder, particularly during regional humanitarian and security crises.
• Integrated Defence–Diplomacy Approach: Linking military engagement with diplomatic objectives through defence attaches, Lines of Credit for defence equipment and joint industrial ventures.
• Defence Industrial Partnerships: Moving towards co-development, co-production, technology transfer and supply-chain integration, instead of relying predominantly on conventional buyer–seller arrangements.
• Defence Exports as Diplomacy: Diplomatic networks would increasingly help create international opportunities for Indian missiles, artillery, naval platforms, radars, electronic systems and other indigenous technologies.

Significance for India

• Strategic Autonomy: Stronger indigenous production and diversified partnerships can reduce excessive dependence on external defence suppliers.
• Defence Manufacturing: International cooperation can provide access to technology, markets, investment and global supply chains.
• Export Expansion: Defence diplomacy can create diplomatic and government-to-government channels for expanding Indian defence exports.
  • India’s defence exports hit a record ₹38,424 crore in FY 2025-26.
• Economic Gains: Defence exports and joint ventures can support India’s aerospace, electronics, shipbuilding and broader defence ecosystem.
• Regional Security: Greater military cooperation can enhance India’s ability to respond to maritime, humanitarian and emerging security challenges.
• Diplomatic Influence: Defence capabilities become an additional instrument for India to build long-term strategic relationships.
• Rules-Based Order: Partnerships can contribute to India’s objective of promoting a stable, inclusive and rules-based international environment.

Key Challenges

• Technology Dependence: Critical technologies in areas such as advanced propulsion, sensors, artificial intelligence and electronic warfare remain areas requiring greater domestic capability.
• Export Competitiveness: Indian defence products must compete with established global suppliers on cost, quality, reliability and after-sales support.
• Geopolitical Balancing: Expanding partnerships across different power centres must remain consistent with India’s strategic autonomy.
• Institutional Coordination: Effective implementation requires sustained coordination between defence, diplomacy, intelligence and industry.
• Implementation Gap: A strategic framework must translate into concrete projects, procurement, technology partnerships and measurable outcomes.

Way Forward

• Outcome-Based Diplomacy: Establish measurable objectives for major defence partnerships rather than focusing primarily on the number of exercises or agreements.
• Technology-Centric Partnerships: Prioritise joint research, co-development and technology transfer in emerging defence technologies.
• Export Ecosystem: Provide stronger diplomatic, financial and after-sales support for Indian defence exports.
• Global Supply Chains: Integrate Indian defence firms, MSMEs and start-ups into trusted international defence supply chains.
• Maritime Leadership: Expand maritime domain awareness, HADR, naval exercises and capacity building across the Indian Ocean.
• Institutional Integration: Strengthen coordination among the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of External Affairs, armed forces, National Security Council Secretariat and industry.
• Strategic Autonomy: Diversify partnerships while ensuring that international defence cooperation does not create new strategic dependencies.

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Conclusion

RAKSHA marks a shift towards institutionalised defence diplomacy, integrating strategic partnerships, indigenous production, exports and maritime security to strengthen India’s strategic autonomy and global influence. 

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