NEW DELHI: India will continue to strike terrorists as long as a neighbouring country sponsors them, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Sunday, hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated his government’s zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism in his Mann Ki Baat broadcast.
“India believes in peace and does not seek to occupy the territory of any country. However, peace should not be mistaken for weakness,” Singh said at a conclave in the national capital. “We seek global stability, but not at the cost of our strategic autonomy.”
In a message aimed at Pakistan, Singh ruled out dialogue with countries that use terrorism as state policy, saying terror could never be treated as a strategic asset.
As long as a neighbouring country shelters terrorists, India is fully entitled to take all necessary measures, he said. Earlier on Sunday, Modi also recalled the 2016 surgical strikes carried out after the Uri terror attack, with their 10th anniversary falling on Monday. He said India now follows a zero-tolerance approach to terrorism and is witnessing its results.
Modi contrasted this with the response to major terror attacks during earlier governments, referring to the 2008 Delhi blasts and the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
Furthermore, Singh said warfare was changing rapidly, with conflict expanding beyond land, sea and air into the cyber, space and information domains. Artificial intelligence, drones, quantum technologies and hypersonic systems were reshaping warfare, he said, underlining the need for India to build future-ready capabilities.
Supply chains are also emerging as a new arena of geopolitical competition, Singh said, pointing to the strategic importance of semiconductors, critical minerals and energy security.
Highlighting India’s defence manufacturing push, Singh said defence exports had risen from Rs.686 crore in 2013-14 to a record Rs. 38,424 crore in 2025-26. Indian defence products are now being exported to more than 100 countries, he said, with the government targeting exports worth Rs. 50,000 crore by 2029.
The defence budget has risen to Rs. 7.85 lakh crore in 2026-27 from Rs. 2.53 lakh crore in 2013-14. Around 75 per cent of the capital acquisition budget, amounting to Rs. 1.39 lakh crore, has been earmarked for domestic industry.
Singh also highlighted the Centre’s recent decision to transfer DRDO-developed technologies for conventional missile systems to Indian industry. The move, he said, would accelerate production for the armed forces while allowing DRDO to focus more on research and development.
India’s objective, Singh said, was to achieve self-reliance across the defence spectrum, from critical components to complete weapon systems.