Anil Agarwal urges govt to privatise ordnance factories, tap defence exports amid West Asia crisis

Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal has called for an overhaul and privatisation of India’s defence manufacturing ecosystem, saying existing ordnance factories should be modernised and opened up to private sector participation to boost domestic production.

In a post on X on Friday, Agarwal said India already has a strong base of defence production infrastructure, including 41 ordnance factories that manufacture arms and ammunition, but needs to scale up capacity and execution.

“It is almost impossible to build such infrastructure quickly, so these existing factories hold the key to achieving self-reliance in defence equipment,” he said, adding that modernisation and private participation could help increase output “by 10 times”.

Push for private sector role

Agarwal said India should focus on producing defence equipment domestically across land, air and maritime segments, not just for internal security but also to build an export-oriented industry.

“Their privatisation should be like Air India – smooth, as time is of the essence,” he said, pitching for a faster transition to private ownership of state-run defence units.

He added that the sector could emerge as a significant contributor to economic growth and job creation if execution improves and the private sector is allowed a larger role.

Part of broader self-reliance push

The remarks are part of a series of posts by Agarwal in recent weeks, where he has repeatedly flagged India’s dependence on imports and called for greater self-reliance in key sectors such as natural resources, energy and mining.

Since the escalation of tensions in West Asia, he has stepped up calls for boosting domestic production, simplifying regulations and enabling private sector participation to reduce external vulnerabilities.

In his latest post, Agarwal linked the push for self-sufficiency in defence to evolving geopolitical realities, saying countries are increasingly focusing on strengthening domestic capabilities in critical sectors.

He said India already has the infrastructure and vision in place, and what remains is execution, with the government and private sector working together to unlock capacity.