India's arms export grows nearly 6x since 2014: Govt

The Defence Ministry on Friday said that the value of arms exports by India has grown approximately by six times since 2014, with the ongoing financial year registering Rs 11,607 crore till now.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, junior Defence Minister Ajay Bhatt said that the value of defence exports has risen to Rs 11,607 crore in 2021-22 from Rs 1,941 crore in FY15. “During this period, many reforms/steps have been taken up by the government to boost defence exports and enhance ease of doing business,” he said.

The Indian government has set an ambitious annual export target of around Rs 36,500 crore by 2025. Bhatt said that the corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) and its 41 factories into seven defence PSUs will also help in boosting exports.

A major export deal inked in January this year was the $375 million (Rs 2,770 crore) contract to export BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to the Philippines, which will pave the way for more such deals with the country as well as other Asean countries like Indonesia and Vietnam, as was reported earlier by TOI. India is currently in talks with countries, including Saudi Arabia and UAE, to export the BrahMos missiles and the Akash air defence missiles.