India, Oct. 20 -- India's defence industry is at an inflection point. With the ambition of achieving USD 25 billion in defence manufacturing by 2025, the urgency for self-reliance could not be clearer. The challenge is not just scaling production volumes but building an ecosystem that can design, prototype, and manufacture mission-critical systems domestically, with minimal reliance on imports.

Industry 4.0 was about automation and efficiency. Industry 5.0 puts people back at the centre of innovation-engineers and skilled professionals working with AI, robotics, and IoT to bring adaptability, speed, and security. For defence, this translates into rapid customisation, predictive maintenance, resilient supply chains, and hybrid production-...