Shares of several defence companies, including Paras Defence and Bharat Electronics (BEL), extended their rally for a second straight session on Thursday, posting sharp gains despite a subdued broader market. Investor sentiment remained buoyant amid record defence production in FY26 and other sector-specific tailwinds.
Paras Defence shares rose 5% on Thursday to hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 1,348.40 apiece on NSE. The stock has rallied 24% in just two sessions. Aequs shares also jumped over 5% today.
Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) and Data Patterns (India) shares jumped 7-8% over two sessions, while those of Bharat Electronics (BEL), Cochin Shipyard, Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL), Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, Bharat Dynamics (BDL), Zen Tech, Solar Industries India and Dynamatic Tech gained 4-6%. Astra Microwave Products and Mtar Tech shares rallied up to 11% over two sessions. The sharp rally pushed the Nifty India Defence index up around 5% over two days to 9,568 on Thursday.
The Ministry of Defence on Wednesday said that India’s indigenous defence production has soared to Rs 1.78 lakh crore in FY26, marking 15.6% growth from the Rs 1.54 lakh crore reported in the previous financial year. This also marks a 110% increase from the Rs 84,643 crore reported in FY21.
PSUs accounted for nearly 76% of the total production, while the private sector’s contribution rose 24% to record Rs 42,000 crore in FY26, from 22% in the financial year 2025.
Also read: Defence production up 15%; private sector share climbs to 24%
“The growth in defence production over the years has tremendously contributed to achieving the record defence exports of Rs 38,424 crore in FY 2025-26. The achievement reflects the growing momentum of the Government's push for self-reliance in defence manufacturing under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative, spearheaded by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi,” the ministry said in a statement.
