DEFENCE EXPO
Modi blames past policies for dependence on imported military hardware, promises good returns to investors in the sector
LUCKNOW: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday blamed policies in the past for India’s decades-old dependence on imported military hardware and technologies and said wide-ranging reforms and steps taken to encourage defence manufacturing in the last five years would help the country achieve exports worth ~35,000 crore by 2025.
Inaugurating the 11th edition of the Def Expo, the Prime Minister said India became the world’s largest importer of weapons and systems because post-Independence it did not exploit its capabilities fully and policies remained focused on imports. The biennial military exhibition, being attended by over 1,000 Indian and foreign firms, seeks to showcase the country’s potential as a global defence manufacturing hub.
“The world’s second-largest population, the world’s secondlargest army and the world’s largest democracy... how long could India depend on imports. And if we depend on imports, how will we fulfil the dream of becoming a $5 trillion economy,” Modi said, referring of his government’s goal of making India a $5 trillion economy by 2024.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, ministers from nearly 40 countries, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, the three service chiefs and top representatives of several Indian and foreign defence firms were present at the inauguration.
Modi said defence manufacturing gained fresh momentum over the last five years because of policy reforms that covered ease of doing business, foreign direct investment and industrial licensing. He said the creation of infrastructure and focus on research and development would also fuel the growth of the defence sector.
Modi said India had exported military hardware worth ~17,000 crore during the last two years, compared to ~2,000 crore in 2014. He said the country’s target was to achieve exports worth ~35,000 over the next five years.
This is in line with a draft Defence Production Policy released in March 2018 that visualises India as one of the top five countries in the aerospace and defence sectors.
“We issued 217 defence licenses in 2014. The number has grown to 460 in the last five years. India is manufacturing everything from artillery guns and an aircraft carrier to submarines today. India’s share in global defence exports has increased. Now our aim is to increase defence exports to $5 billion or ~35,000 crore,” Modi said.
Modi promised “good returns” to investors in the defence sector and said announcements for the investment of ~3,700 crore and ~3,100 crore had been made in two defence corridors coming up in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. He said the corridors were likely to attract an investment of ~20,000 crore in the next five years.
“Any amount you invest here will give you big returns. There is tremendous potential for investment in India. There is talent, technology, innovation, infrastructure, favourable policy and investment is secure,” he said.
Modi said the country’s major industry bodies should create a common platform for defence manufacturing so that they could take advantage of both development and technology.
“Defence manufacturing should not be limited to government institutions, but it should also have equal participation in the private sector,” he said. Modi added India was not just a big market but also provided opportunities for investment.
He referred to the theme of this year’s Def Expo—Digital Transformation of Defence— and said defence forces world-over were embracing new technologies and India was also keeping pace with them.
“Our goal is to develop at least 25 products of artificial intelligence in the defence sector over the next five years,” he said.
Modi added another goal was to bring the number of micro, small and medium enterprises in the field of defence production to more than 15,000 in the next five years. He said India’s presence in outer space was strong and it was going to get stronger.
“India’s space technology is playing an important role for 130 crore Indians from governance to security,” he said.
MODI SAID INDIA HAD EXPORTED MILITARY HARDWARE WORTH ~17,000 CRORE DURING THE LAST TWO YEARS