Defense exports touch a record over Rs 21k cr in 2023-24

NEW DELHI, Apr 1 : Riding on a series of policy reforms and Ease of Doing Business initiatives of the government, defense exports have increased to a record high of Rs 21,083 crore in 2023?24, witnessing a growth of 32.5 percent over the last financial year, according to an official statement from the Ministry of Defense.

Defense exports touched a record of Rs 21,083 crore (approximately. US$ 2.63 billion) in the financial year 2023?24, a growth of 32.5 percent over the last fiscal, when the figure was Rs 15,920 crore.

The recent figures indicate that defense exports have grown by 31 times in the last 10 years as compared to FY 2013?14, the government said.

“Delighted to inform everyone that the Indian defense exports have scaled to unprecedented heights and crossed the Rs 21000 crore mark for the first time in the history of independent India,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh posted on his social media platform handle ‘X’.

The defense industry, including the private sector and defense public sector undertakings (DPSUs), has made tremendous efforts to achieve the highest ever defense exports. The private sector and the DPSUs have contributed about 60 percent and 40 percent, respectively.

In addition, there has been a rise in the number of export authorizations issued to defense exporters during FY 2023?24. From 1,414 export authorizations in FY 2022?23, the number jumped to 1,507 in FY 2023?24.

A comparative analysis of two decades, that is, the period from 2004?05 to 2013?14 and 2014?15 to 2023?24, reveals that there has been a growth of 21 times in defense exports. Total defense exports during 2004-05 to 2013-14 were Rs 4,312 crore, which has gone up to Rs 88,319 crore in the period from 2014-15 to 2023-24.

The remarkable growth has been achieved due to the policy reforms and ‘Ease of Doing Business’ initiatives brought in by the government, in addition to the end-to-end digital solution provided to the Indian industries for promoting defense exports. This growth is a reflection of the global acceptability of Indian defense products and technologies. (UNI)