India’s Defence Exports Reach Rs 13,000 Billion, With The Private Sector Leading Aerospace Manufacturing

According to Defense Secretary Ajay Kumar, India’s defence exports reached a record high of Rs 13,000 crore in the fiscal year 2021–2022, with the private sector playing a significant role in the production of both manned and unmanned aircraft.

Speaking to a gathering of journalists at the South Block, Defense Secretary Kumar stated that “the overall defence export in 2021-2022 amounts at Rs 13,000 crore.”

The growth in exports, according to Sanjay Jaju, additional secretary in the Department of Defense Production, was “eight times” what it was just five years ago.

When asked what the export split was between publicly traded defence PSUs and private businesses, Kumar responded that it had previously been 10:90 but is now 30:70.

Rs 35,000 crore export in next five years

According to sources, the almost Rs 2,500 crore BrahMos missile contract between India and the Philippines is what caused the increase in the share of defence PSUs from 10% to 30%.

According to sources, the aerospace industry accounts for the majority of the nation’s defence exports, with Indian businesses producing a variety of components for international industries, including fuselages.

For instance, a joint venture between Boeing and Tata produces all the Apache attack helicopter fuselages that are supplied worldwide in India. For a number of Israeli drones, firms including Adani Defence and Lohia Group are producing fuselages.

Although India signed the well-known BrahMos agreement with the Philippines this year, Myanmar has benefited most from India’s defence exports over the previous five years.

Approximately 50% of India’s defence exports from 2017 to 2021 went to Myanmar, followed by Sri Lanka at 25% and Armenia at 11%, according statistics on trends from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

The Narendra Modi administration set a goal of Rs 35,000 crore ($ 5 billion) in aerospace and defence exports during the following five years in 2020. This is a portion of the government’s goal to reach Rs. 1.75 lakh crore ($25 billion) in defence manufacturing sales by 2025.