India’s defence exports

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The story so far: India’s defence exports have increased from ₹1,521 crore in 2016-17 to ₹8,434.84 crore in 2020-21.

The Government has set an ambitious target to achieve exports of about ₹35,000 crore ($5 billion) in aerospace and defence goods and services by 2025.
There was an overall drop in India’s arms imports between 2011-15 and 2016-20.
But according to SIPRI report of 2020 India remained among the top importers, it was also included in the Top 25 defence exporters.

Which Indian companies are major exporters?

According to the latest report of the SIPRI, three Indian companies figure among the top 100 defence companies in the 2020 rankings —Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Ordnance Factory Board and Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL).

What are the big-ticket items that India can export?

India was ready to supply different types of missile systems, LCA/helicopters, multi-purpose light transport aircraft, warships and patrol vessels, artillery gun systems, tanks, radars, military vehicles, electronic warfare systems and other weapons systems to IOR nations.
Assistance in capacity building and capability enhancement has emerged as a major theme in discussions with Indian Ocean littoral states with the Navy taking the lead in this area.

What are the steps taken by the Centre to boost defence production?

Measures announced to boost exports include

simplified defence industrial licensing
relaxation of export controls and grant of no-objection certificates
specific incentives were introduced under the foreign trade policy
Ministry of External Affairs has facilitated Lines of Credit for countries to import defence product.
defence attaches in Indian missions abroad have been empowered to promote defence exports.
On the domestic front, to boost indigenous manufacturing, the Government had issued two “positive indigenisation lists” consisting of 209 items that cannot be imported and can only be procured from domestic industry.
A percentage of the capital outlay of the defence budget has been reserved for procurement from domestic industry.