VMPL
Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], February 28: India's march toward Viksit Bharat 2047 is increasingly being defined by its strategic sectors none more critical than defence and aerospace. Over the past decade, policy reforms under the Make in India framework have recalibrated the sector from a predominantly state-driven model to one characterised by calibrated privatisation, private participation, indigenisation, and export ambition.
India today targets defence production exceeding ₹3 lakh crore annually in the coming years, with exports projected to scale toward ₹50,000 crore. The sector is growing at an estimated 8-10% CAGR, supported by procurement reforms, indigenisation lists, and global supply chain realignments. Hyderabad, in particular, has emerged as a significant aerospace and defence manufacturing cluster within this national vision.
Yet beneath this policy and production momentum lies a less discussed but equally strategic imperative: talent alignment.
This theme took centre stage at the Campus to Capability Conclave 2026, held in Hyderabad and organised by GYANN India in association with the Institute of Engineers (India), Hyderabad Local Centre. The conclave marked the formal launch of GYANN India's Defence & Aerospace Management Programme, positioned as a structured industry-academia interface initiative.
The gathering brought together senior bureaucrats, policymakers, industry leaders, and academic heads including Senior IAS Officer Shri Vikas Raj, Dr. SVS. Narayana Murthy, CMD - MIDHANI, Padma Shri Dr. G. Chandramouli, Dr. Sai Pavan Kumar B.V.D.S. ,Founder Gyann India, Mr. Noel Reddy Challa, Director Gyann India, along with leadership from major defence and aerospace firms such as Adani Group, MTAR Technologies, VEM Technologies, Skyroot Aerospace, Larsen & Toubro, Apollo Microsystems, and others.
The underlying message was clear: policy reform without parallel academic reform risks creating execution bottlenecks.
Defence and aerospace manufacturing operate within a high-stakes ecosystem governed by compliance discipline, zero-failure tolerance, global supply chain dependencies, and long-cycle programme management. As private participation deepens and India integrates more assertively into global defence markets, the need for multidisciplinary, execution-ready professionals becomes structural rather than optional.
While India produces one of the world's largest engineering graduate cohorts annually, industry stakeholders increasingly highlight the mismatch between academic output and sector-specific readiness. The gap is not one of intelligence or intent, but of structured exposure to real-world industrial ecosystems.
In this context, initiatives aimed at bridging industry and academia gain strategic relevance. The unveiling of GYANN India's flagship programme at the conclave symbolised a recognition that achieving production targets and export milestones will require systemic collaboration between institutions, industry, and policymakers.
If infrastructure and capital represent the visible pillars of Make in India, then talent reform represents its silent backbone.
As India advances toward its centenary milestone in 2047, the question may not simply be whether it can scale defence manufacturing but whether it can scale capability with equal urgency.The success of Viksit Bharat 2047 may ultimately hinge not only on factories and exports, but on how effectively the nation transforms its campuses into engines of industrial readiness.
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