Jharkhand polls: BJP has much at stake Amaravati project not feasible: AP govt Defence India targets USD 26 bn defence industry

India was committed to achieve a USD26 billion defence industry by 2025, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said.

He was addressing a business seminar ‘India Rising’, organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce at the Defence & Security Exhibition 2019 in Bangkok. Under the Draft Defence Production Policy 2018, the Indian government eyes USD5 billion defence exports by 2025. “This target is ambitious, but it’s encouraging that India’s defence exports have grown almost six-fold in the last two years,” he said.

About USD10 billion investment in aerospace and defence goods and services was expected by 2025, which could provide employment to two-three million people, he said. Singh stressed the government’s resolve to promote self-reliance in defence through the five I’s -- Identification, Incubation, Innovation, Integration and Indigenisation. The Defence Ministry would fund 250 startups, 16 personal initiatives and five defence innovation hubs through the Defence Innovation Organisation in five years.

Over 50 technological designs would be made to meet the armed forces’ requirements, while a Defence Innovation Fund was being planned to support the government participation through equity investment in defence startups, he said.

“A new transfer of technology (ToT) policy is being developed to simplify the way of transferring technology by DRDO to the industry. More than 900 ToT licensing agreements have been signed with industries. It’s a major step towards making the defence manufacturing sector selfsufficient,” Singh said.

The minister also listed his ministry’s major initiatives to increase exports, including simplification of procedures, industry licensing process, increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) cap, streamlining of defence offset policy and making government trial and testing facilities available to the private sector.

“The government plans to establish two defence corridors in Tamil Nadu and UP. A Defence Innovation Hub is functioning in Coimbatore. A Defence Planning Committee has been formed. The UP government plans to build a defence manufacturing corridor, which will help in making India self-reliant in defence production,” he said.

The government has entered into 21 defence offset contracts totally worth USD5.67 billion over three years, Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik informed Parliament. He said since the opening of private sector in defence production in 2001, 452 industrial licenses have been issued till October 2019, for manufacturing of a wide range of defence items. A total of 109 licenses have been issued in the last three financial years.

“So far FDI amounting to INR 1812 crore has been reported by the companies in the Defence and Aerospace Sector since April 2014,” Naik said.