India’s World is a leading foreign affairs magazine that examines global developments from an Indian perspective. This special issue, Reforming India’s Defence Industry, explores the country’s most ambitious effort yet to transform its defence sector—energised by policies like Atmanirbharta and the drive to make India a major defence exporter.

At over 60,000 words, this is our largest issue yet, bringing together India’s foremost military thinkers, strategists, policymakers, and scholars to examine how the nation is reshaping its defence ecosystem, from design and development to production and export.

Highlights include Gen. D. S. Hooda’s roadmap for enabling defence self-reliance, Air Marshal Diptendu Choudhury’s deep dive into the Tejas project, and Vice Admiral Anil Chopra’s essay on nurturing private industry and innovation in the defence sector. Complementing these are Dhruva Jaishankar and Ammar Nainar’s exploration of India’s expanding defence diplomacy, Amit Cowshish’s analysis of export strategy, and Sarabjeet Singh Parmar’s argument for making India a global warship builder.

Beyond defence, this issue also journeys through India’s wider world, its history, ideas, and cultural imagination. From the evolution of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to the modernisation of India’s fighter jet programme, from new geopolitical alignments to cultural resonances in art, music, and migration, this issue of India’s World captures a nation in transition, one that is modernising its defences while reaffirming its creative and intellectual strength.