{"id":32372,"date":"2023-02-27T01:05:30","date_gmt":"2023-02-26T19:35:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=32372"},"modified":"2025-04-19T10:58:08","modified_gmt":"2025-04-19T05:28:08","slug":"the-5-billion-defence-exports-target","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/the-5-billion-defence-exports-target\/","title":{"rendered":"The $5 billion defence exports target"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Why in news?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Defence exports<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>What are the current export figures?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Which defence equipment does India export?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>What are the major defence platforms India is looking to export?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Major export destinations<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>What are the steps taken by the government to achieve self-reliance in defence?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Conclusion\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Why in news?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The defence ministry has set a target to raise India\u2019s annual defence exports to $5 billion by 2024-25, from the $1.5 billion currently.<\/li>\n<li>This was also reiterated by PM Modi at the recently concluded Aero India 2023 in Bengaluru earlier this month.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>What are the current export figures?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>As per government data, <u>India\u2019s defence export value till December 2022 had reached Rs 6,058 crore<\/u>.<\/li>\n<li>India\u2019s defence exports have <u>grown by 334 per cent in the past five years<\/u>. They touched nearly Rs 13,000 crore in 2021-22.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Which defence equipment does India export?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The major defence items being exported are Personal Protective items, Offshore Patrol Vessels, ALH Helicopter, SU Avionics, Bharati Radio, Coastal Surveillance Systems etc.<\/li>\n<li>In December 2022, the government told Parliament that major items exported by India in the last three years include:\u00a0\n<ul>\n<li>lightweight torpedoes, weapon locating radar, fast patrol vessels, 120 mm mortar armoured protection vehicle, 0.338 Lapua magnum sniper rifle, and simulators.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>What are the major defence platforms India is looking to export?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>India is in talks with Argentina and Egypt, among other countries, to export its <strong>indigenous LCA Tejas<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>According to the government officials, the <u>LCA Mk 2 has seen interest from nearly 16 countries<\/u> and efforts are on to identify private production agencies to ramp up manufacturing of the jet.<\/li>\n<li>India is looking to export the indigenous Advanced Light Helicopter to several countries.\n<ul>\n<li>India has signed a contract with Mauritius for the export of one Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH Mk III) for Mauritius Police Force.<\/li>\n<li>Mauritius already operates the ALH and Do-228 aircraft, which is a multi-purpose light transport aircraft.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>India is also in talks with Guyana to export the Dornier 228 and fast patrol vessels.<\/li>\n<li>Last year, India signed a $375 million contract with the Philippines to export the <strong>BrahMos supersonic cruise missile<\/strong>.\n<ul>\n<li>India is looking to export the weapon system and its lighter next generation version (BrahMos NG) to over 10 countries, including South Africa, Egypt, UAE, and Saudi Arabia.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>In 2022, Armenia inked a government-to-government deal to buy the DRDO-developed <strong>Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers<\/strong>, rockets and ammunition.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Major export destinations<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>India\u2019s private companies and Defence PSUs currently export defence equipment to over 75 countries.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Major countries<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li>Italy, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Russia, France, Nepal, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Israel, Egypt, UAE, Bhutan, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, Poland, Spain and Chile are some of the major export destinations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Top customers for India\u2019s defence export<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>A report released by India Exim Bank stated that <u>Mauritius, Mozambique, and Seychelles<\/u> have been among the top customers for India\u2019s defence exports between 2017 and 2021.<\/li>\n<li><strong>India is among the top 25 exporters of major arms<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>According to a Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) report released last year, India is among the top 25 exporters of major arms.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><u>Myanmar has been the biggest importer of <\/u><strong><u>Indian arms<\/u><\/strong> at 50 per cent during the 2017-2021 period, followed by Sri Lanka at 25 per cent and Armenia at 11 per cent.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>What are the steps taken by the government to achieve self-reliance in defence?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Change in Defence Procurement Policy<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The policy increased the Indigenous Content stipulated in various categories of procurement by about 10% to support the \u2018Make in India\u2019 initiative.<\/li>\n<li>It added an additional category Buy (Indian-IDDM) as the most preferred way of defence goods acquisition.\n<ul>\n<li>IDDM &#8211; Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Preference has been given to &#8216;Buy (Indian)&#8217;, &#8216;Buy &amp; Make (Indian)&#8217; &amp; &#8216;Make&#8217; categories of acquisition over &#8216;Buy (Global)&#8217; category.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Budget 2023-24\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Government has earmarked <u>75 per cent of its defence capital budget for 2023-24<\/u> towards procurements from domestic sources.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Negative import list\/positive indigenisation list<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>So far, <i>three positive indigenisation lists<\/i> of 3,738 items have been released.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The items mentioned on the lists cannot be imported by the Services and should be sourced from within the country<\/li>\n<li><strong>Defence industrial corridors<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Two defence industrial corridors are being set up in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.<\/li>\n<li>Also, there is an ongoing simplification of processes for ease of doing business aimed at boosting defence exports.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Defence research<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Steps to encourage defence research are also being undertaken.<\/li>\n<li>E.g., earmarking 25 per cent of the defence research budget for the private sector in 2022-23, for newer innovation and developing niche technology.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Space created for private players<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Government has incentivised the private sector to invest in defence manufacturing.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>In this direction, it has relied on transfer of technology, providing a platform for handholding etc.<\/li>\n<li>The government recently corporatised the Ordnance Factory Board and converted it into seven DPSUs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conclusion\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>There has been a strong government push towards achieving self-reliance in defence, which is subsequently expected to increase India\u2019s defence exports as well.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Q1)\u00a0What is Positive Indigenisation List?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The positive indigenisation list essentially means that the three-armed services \u2013 Airforce, Army and Navy \u2013 will not import the items mentioned on the lists. These items should be sourced from within the country.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q2)\u00a0Where are the Defence Industrial Corridors (DIC) in India?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Government of India has established two Defence Industrial Corridors (DICs) in the country, one in Uttar Pradesh and other in Tamil Nadu.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>06 (six) nodes viz. Agra, Aligarh, Chitrakoot, Jhansi, Kanpur and Lucknow have been identified for developing Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor (UPDIC).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, 05 (five) nodes viz. Chennai, Coimbatore, Hosur, Salem, and Tiruchirappalli identified for developing Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor (TNDIC).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Source:<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/decoding-the-5-billion-defence-exports-target-8466734\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>Decoding the $5 billion defence exports target, which PM Modi spoke of at Aero India 2023<\/u><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pib.gov.in\/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1882702#:~:text=Agra%2C%20Aligarh%2C%20Chitrakoot%2C%20Jhansi,Defence%20Industrial%20Corridor%20(TNDIC).\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>PIB<\/u><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/india-defence-production-exports-imports-capabilities-explained-8196801\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>Indian Express<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India currently exports defence equipment to over 75 countries and efforts are underway to ramp up exports.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":32374,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-32372","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32372"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32372\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}