<h1>Government pushes strategic autonomy with faster indigenous defence production, national air-defence system and domestic aero-engine plans</h1> The defence minister announced government policy initiatives to strengthen strategic autonomy by accelerating indigenous defence production, including a proposed national air-defence system and development of a domestic aero-engine, citing recent DRDO tests of an integrated air-defence weapon system. The statements frame self-reliance as sovereignty rather than protectionism amid rising trade tensions, signalling potential shifts in procurement, export controls, and industrial policy to prioritise domestic suppliers and expand defence exports. Implementation will implicate regulatory, procurement and budgetary processes, intellectual property and technology-transfer arrangements, and international trade and defence-cooperation relationships.