India’s defence start-up boom is outrunning its talent pipeline
Without targeted skilling, 40-45% of roles in the sector could remain unfilled by 2030, a gap that risks bottlenecking aircraft development, unmanned systems, naval projects and secure communications networks
India's defence manufacturing sector reached an all-time high of ₹1.78 lakh crore in revenue during FY 2025-26, with exports growing by 62.66% to ₹38,424 crore. The private industry's contribution to total output surged to 24% in FY 2025-26, up from 22% the previous year. However, the sector faces a talent shortage, as less than 5% of the existing workforce possesses specialised skills in areas such as radar engineering, RF engineering, and avionics.
Experts suggest that specialised engineering degrees, hands-on internships, and collaboration between industry, academia, and end-users are crucial to bridge this gap and sustain the industry's growth.
Written by urgent.news from The Hindu - Sci-Tech's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
