Defence stocks jump as DAC approves ₹52,000 crore for new indigenous weapons and naval projects

Monday morning. The market opens.

And India's defence stocks sprint out of the gate. 🚀

The reason?

Over the weekend, the Defence Acquisition Council quietly signed off on ₹52,000 crore worth of new weapons buys.

All indigenous. All made in India.

📈 The stocks that felt it first

By 9:45 am, the tickers were screaming:

The Nifty India Defence index? Up 1.35% in early trade.

This isn't a boring shopping list. It's a full-spectrum arsenal upgrade.

🛰️ Akash Tarang — a homegrown anti-drone electronic warfare system built to jam and neutralise hostile UAVs
🎯 MPATGM — man-portable anti-tank guided missiles for the infantry
🚀 MRSAM — medium-range surface-to-air missiles
🛡️ V-SHORADS — very short-range air defence
🪖 Active Protection Systems for tanks
💥 Jet-powered loitering munitions — the kamikaze drones everyone's been talking about post the drone-war era

And for the Navy? Multi-influence ground mines, shipborne UAS, and a shiny new Land Based Testing Facility for electric propulsion.

Here's where it gets interesting.

BHEL — yes, the old-school power equipment giant — is suddenly a defence dark horse.

That Land Based Testing Facility for naval electric propulsion?

BHEL has exactly the experience for it.

JM Financial reiterated a 'Buy' with a ₹435 target and dropped a stat that stopped me cold:

👉 BHEL is expected to return to Q1 profitability — after eight straight years of Q1 losses.

And the FY26–FY28 forecast? Wild:

Remember — Acceptance of Necessity isn't a purchase order.

It's the starting gun. Tenders, evaluations, negotiations still to come.

But the signal to the market is loud and clear.

India is going all-in on indigenous defence manufacturing. Anti-drone tech. Loitering munitions. Home-built missiles.

The old dependency era is fading.

And the companies holding the domestic tech stack — BEL, HAL, Paras, BHEL — just got handed the keys to the next decade of orders. 💸

That's all for now!