Pune: India’s defence exports surged to an unprecedented ₹23,622 crore (approximately USD 2.76 billion) in the Financial Year 2024-25, reflecting a 12.04% increase from ₹21,083 crore in FY 2023-24. The growth highlights India's expanding footprint in the global defence market.
The Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) played a crucial role in this milestone, recording a 42.85% rise in exports with ₹8,389 crore in FY 2024-25, compared to ₹5,874 crore in the previous year. Meanwhile, the private sector contributed ₹15,233 crore, slightly surpassing its FY 2023-24 figure of ₹15,209 crore.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated all stakeholders on this achievement through a post on X (formerly Twitter). He emphasized that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, India is progressing towards its ambitious target of ₹50,000 crore in defence exports by 2029.
India’s defence exports include a wide array of products such as ammunition, arms, subsystems, and components, which were supplied to around 80 countries in the past fiscal year. The country’s evolving defence strategy underscores its transition from an import-heavy market to a self-reliant and export-driven industry.
The Department of Defence Production has significantly enhanced the efficiency of export authorizations, issuing 1,762 approvals in FY 2024-25, a 16.92% increase from the 1,507 approvals granted in FY 2023-24. Additionally, the total number of exporters grew by 17.4% during this period.
In recent years, the Indian government has implemented several policy reforms to accelerate the growth of its defence sector. These measures include simplifying industrial licensing procedures, removing components from licensing requirements, and extending license validity.
Further refinements in the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for export approvals were introduced in the last fiscal year to facilitate smoother and faster processing of export authorizations.
