India’s Defence Exports Hit Highest Ever

India’s defence exports stood at a record Rs 14,000 crore in 2021-22, defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday. The feat was an outcome of the government’s policies to boost the export of military hardware to friendly foreign countries.

The minister said that due to government’s efforts, defence exports have now crossed Rs 14,000 crore. He exuded confidence that, “defence exports will cross Rs 19,000 crore by 2023. We are well on course to achieve the target of Rs 25,000 crore worth of exports by 2025.”

Singh added that with the Centre’s vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, India has joined mainstream of manufacturing and is now producing indigenous aircraft carriers such as INS Vikrant.

He said, the government wants private sector participation for their as well as the nation’s growth while inviting foreign companies to ‘Make in India, Make for the World’.

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Positive indigenization lists of over 3,700 items including components replacement units for defence public sector units, and 310 other defence related items have been issued by Ministry of Defence to promote self-reliance.

India’s defence exports recorded nearly a six-fold increase between 2017 and 2021, shooting up from Rs 1,520 crore to Rs 8,435 crore during that period, according to defence ministry data.

Commending the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for the welfare of the nation,Singh said India has become the fifth largest economy with a GDP of $3.5 trillion in the last 8.5 years.

“Before 2014, India was among the ‘Fragile Five’ nations, a word coined investment firm Morgan Stanley. Today, we have moved out of that category and joined the ‘Fabulous Five’ economies of the world. According to a recently published article on the global economic outlook by Managing Director of Morgan Stanley Chetan Ahya, India will be the third largest economy after the US and China by 2027. India’s GDP will increase to USD 8.5 trillion in the next ten years. This clearly shows that India has become a centre of hope and confidence for the world,” he said.