Defence products export to exceed Rs 35,000 crore target by 2024-25
Ajay Kumar, Secretary, Defence Production Department said the government has been taking several steps to encourage the private sector, MSMEs in particular, in defence production under the existing production policy.
With the growing trend of shipments in recent years, exports of defence products will exceed the Rs 35,000 crore target by 2024-25, said Ajay Kumar, Secretary, Defence Production Department.
He added that defence components are key drivers while he was in Kolkata to promote private sector participation in defence production and to inaugurate a facilitation centre for the defence production at Bharat Chamber of Commerce.
"Defence exports had been growing exponentially. It is like a big rock, which is hard to move, but once it starts rolling, it only gains momentum," he said.
“Last fiscal, exports were about Rs 10,700 crore and in 2019-20, the Centre had set a target of Rs 20,000 crore. In the first quarter of the current fiscal, exports worth Rs 5,600 crore had already been recorded," he added.
Ajay Kumar then said exports were just worth Rs 1,500 crore in 2016-17 and Rs 4,500 crore 2017-18.
According to him, the government has been taking several steps to encourage the private sector, MSMEs in particular, in defence production under the existing production policy and some "notable changes" have been brought in the recent policy.
Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) had decided that it would not seek capacity verification for almost 90 percent of the products barring some of the sensitive items.
Further, OFB and defence PSUs are planning to outsource about 3000 items which will give boost to the MSME sector, Kumar said.
The government had also allowed suo-motu defence products development and production, and six to seven suo-motu proposals had already been accepted, said the secretary.
Traditionally, the Defence department used to float tenders for products that it decided to procure, but now the government has allowed the private sector to pitch for useful products that they have developed.
In February 2019, Subhash Bhamre, Union Minister of State for Defence, said India would invest huge resources on modernisation of the defence sector and boost local manufacturing of defence equipment.
The minister had said a lot of defence equipments are currently being imported. He called for better collaboration between the defence sector and the industry to reverse this trend, and encourage small businesses to become more involved. He also urged industry leaders to invest in the country's defence sector.
