New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday released ‘RAKSHA’, a comprehensive strategic document outlining India's roadmap for defence diplomacy and global defence partnerships over the next decade.
Released at Kartavya Bhawan, the framework seeks to align India's national-security objectives with a more proactive approach to international defence engagement, placing defence diplomacy firmly within India's broader foreign-policy strategy.
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The significance of RAKSHA lies in bringing several strands of India's defence strategy under one broader diplomatic framework.
Military exercises and training can build interoperability and long-term relationships, while defence exports can create deeper industrial and strategic links with partner countries. At the same time, maritime cooperation allows India to extend its security role across the Indian Ocean Region.
This makes defence diplomacy more than military-to-military engagement. It increasingly becomes a tool through which India can build strategic partnerships, expand defence-industrial relationships and strengthen its position as a security provider.
The framework comes as India is simultaneously expanding defence cooperation with partners across Europe, West Asia, Africa and the Indo-Pacific, while seeking greater international markets for its indigenous defence systems.
RAKSHA provides an actionable vision for the next 10 years, signalling India's intent to move towards a more structured and proactive model of defence diplomacy.
For India's defence industry, the emphasis on indigenous exports is particularly significant. Greater diplomatic engagement can potentially create new channels for Indian defence companies to enter foreign markets, while training, exercises and capacity-building programmes can strengthen relationships beyond individual defence deals.
RAKSHA therefore marks a shift from viewing defence diplomacy simply as military engagement to using it as an instrument of strategic influence, defence exports and India's wider global positioning.
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