India's Defence exports touch record high of USD 2.76 billion, Modi calls it 'proud milestone'

Indian Defence exports have surged to a record high of Rs 23,622 crore (approx. US$ 2.76 Billion) in the Financial Year (FY) 2024-25, said Indin Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

A growth of Rs 2,539 crore or 12.04% has been registered in the just-concluded FY over the defence exports figures of FY 2023-24, which were Rs 21,083 crore.

The Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) have shown a significant increase of 42.85% in their exports in the FY 2024-25 reflecting the growing acceptability of Indian products in the global market and the ability of the Indian defence industry to be a part of the global supply chain.

"The private sector and DPSUs have contributed Rs 15,233 crore and Rs 8,389 crore respectively in defence exports of 2024-25, whereas the corresponding figures for FY 2023-24 were Rs 15,209 crore and Rs 5,874 crore respectively," read a government statement.

Posting on X, Rajnath Singh congratulated all the stakeholders on achieving the feat. He stated that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, India is marching towards achieving the target of increasing defence exports to Rs 50,000 crore by 2029.

India has evolved from a largely import-dependent military force to the one increasingly focused on self-reliance and indigenous production.

In a major boost to defence exports, wide range of items from ammunition, arms, sub-systems/systems and parts & components have been exported to around 80 countries in the just-concluded FY.

The Department of Defence Production has a dedicated portal for application and processing of export authorisation requests, and 1,762 Export Authorisation were issued in FY 2024-25 compared to 1,507 in the preceding year, registering a growth of 16.92%.

The total number of exporters also grew by 17.4% in the same period.

"Many policy reforms have been brought-in by the Government in the past few years to boost the Indian defence industry such as simplification of industrial licensing procedure, removal of parts and components from license regime, extending the validity period of license etc," read a statement.

In addition, SOP for grant of Export Authorisation was further simplified, and more provisions were added in the last financial year to boost exports from the country.

Indian PM Narendra Modi Congratulates

Indian PM Narendra Modi has described the moment as a 'proud miletone'.

"This is indeed a proud milestone in our journey towards self-reliance and global leadership in defence manufacturing!" Modi wrote on X.