Decoding India’s upward trend in defence exports

India has gradually increased its tally of gun exports in recent years. New Delhi has gradually improved its defence export trajectory by prioritizing the development of domestic defence manufacturing capacity, implementing a more liberal export regulatory environment, and accepting a whole-of-government approach (WGA).

In 2023, India recorded its largest defense export value of INR 15,920 crores, or nearly US$5 billion—ten times the money achieved by defence exports in 2016–2017—marking a watershed point for the country's booming military-industrial complex. In 2013–14, the country's defence exports were worth only INR 686 crore.

The Defence Production and Export Promotion Strategy (DPEP) (2020) has been crucial to the steadily rising export graph. The DPEP has established the tone and tenor for the government's attention on this goal by clearly laying out frameworks for improving domestic defence production and establishing precise export targets. The government specifically desires $5 billion in defence export revenue by 2025.

According to government data, India's defence revenue from exports amounted to INR 1,910 crore in 2014–15. Revenue climbed to INR 2,059.18 crores in 2015-16 but declined to INR 1,521 crores the next fiscal year.As a result, the export revenue graph increased to INR 4,682 crores in 2017–18 before rising to INR 10,745 crores in 2018–19. Export value fell slightly during the COVID-19-affected years of 2019–20 and 2020–2021, falling to INR 9,115 crores and INR 8,434 crores, respectively.

Source: https://www.orfonline.org/