India's Defence Exports Fall Short Of Target By 20% In FY 2024-25

(MENAFN- KNN India) New Delhi, April 2 (KNN) India's defence exports achieved a record Rs 23,622 crore (approximately USD 2.76 billion) in the financial year 2024-25, according to a statement released Tuesday by the Ministry of Defence.

This represents a growth of 12.04 per cent compared to the previous fiscal year's figure of Rs 21,083 crore.

Despite reaching this new milestone, the growth rate has decelerated significantly from the 32.4 per cent increase recorded in 2023-24, when exports rose from Rs 15,920 crore in the prior year.

The record achievement nevertheless fell short of the government's ambitious Rs 30,000 crore target for the year, marking a 21.26 per cent deficit against projected goals.

This shortfall highlights the challenges India faces in its quest to become a major global defence supplier despite sustained growth.

Defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs) demonstrated remarkable progress with a 42.8 per cent increase in their export performance during 2024-25, which the Ministry attributes to the growing international acceptance of Indian defence products and the industry's increasing integration into global supply chains.

In terms of sector-wise contribution, private enterprises accounted for Rs 15,233 crore (64.5 per cent) of defence exports, while DPSUs contributed Rs 8,389 crore (35.5 per cent).

The private sector's contribution remained essentially unchanged from the previous year's Rs 15,209 crore, suggesting stagnation in this segment despite overall growth.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh acknowledged this achievement on social media platform X, congratulating all stakeholders involved.

He emphasised that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, India continues to progress toward its target of increasing defence exports to Rs 50,000 crore by 2029, demonstrating the government's commitment to transforming India's defence manufacturing capabilities.

The Ministry of Defence highlighted India's evolution from a predominantly import-dependent military force to one increasingly focused on self-reliance and indigenous production.

The country exported a diverse range of defence items-including ammunition, arms, sub-systems, complete systems, and components-to approximately 80 countries during FY 2024-25.

The United States, France, and Armenia were identified as the top purchasers of Indian defence equipment and components in the previous financial year.

The Department of Defence Production maintains a dedicated portal for processing export authorisation requests, which issued 1,762 export authorisations in 2024-25, representing a 16.92 per cent increase from the 1,507 authorisations granted in the preceding year.

The total number of exporters also grew by 17.4 percent during the same period, indicating expanding participation in India's defence export ecosystem.

The government has implemented various policy reforms to stimulate the Indian defence industry, including simplifying industrial licensing procedures, removing parts and components from the licensing regime, and extending the validity period of licenses.

The standard operating procedure for granting export authorisations has been further streamlined, and additional provisions were introduced in the last financial year specifically to promote exports.

(KNN Bureau)

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