by Dr. Jaipal Singh
Self-Reliance & Export Boom
Defence Exports: An Illustrative Success Story
Although India ranked among the world’s few largest armed forces since early 1990s, yet paradoxically it lacked the ability to equip itself independently. For instance, advanced Tanks and artillery came from abroad, fighter aircraft procured from the foreign supply chains mainly Russia and France, sophisticated ships and submarines required overseas construction and maintenance, and even critical ammunition stocks were often dependent on uncertain imports. Although the nation had achieved nuclear capability and space competence but it was still heavily dependent in defence manufacturing, the Russia being the bulk source supplier. Instead of being an exporter country, India was among the biggest global arms importers. The economic crisis of late 1980s that continued in early 1990s forced India to take economic reforms, albeit reluctantly as the ruling Congress party was still enchanted with Nehruvian legacy. The post-cold war collapse of the Soviet Union was yet another shock and challenge that disrupted India’s arms supply chain, the spare parts became difficult and supplies slowed down impacting the operational readiness of the Indian armed forces. The Kargil War was a sort of learning lesson too with India realizing how the shortage of surveillance systems and dependence on uncertain imported equipment & ammunition could impact national security and integrity. This author has firsthand witnessed this as Director of Defence Budget & Planning in the Ministry of Defence during the major part of this decade.
During the first decade (2000–2010) of the new millennium, several decisive reforms were undertaken during the Vajpayee regime up to early 2004, decision making process slowed down again during the subsequent UPA regime (2004-14) but decision and policy reforms earlier taken nonetheless continued. Just to recapitulate, some of the major ones included opening of the defence manufacturing to the private sector, Foreign Direct Investment, and offset policies besides encouraging joint ventures. This did not produce immediate results but it planted the industrial seeds for the defence sector. Some of the major private firms entering manufacturing in the defence sector were Larsen & Toubro, Tata Advanced Systems Limited, Mahindra Defence Systems, etc. The silent technological revolution inter alia transitioned from assembly under licence to design and systems integration, particularly matured segments included Indian Missile and Aerospace programmes, while a few important accelerated programmes included Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, Akash missile system, Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter, etc.
The true inflection point came after 2014 General Elections and with the formation of Narendra Modi led NDA Government giving thrust to “Make in India” and “Atmanirbhar Bharat” thereby catalysing an industrial awakening and structural transformation in defence sector in true sense (2014-20). Now the vision and mission included India not only to meet own domestic needs but also to become a design hub with an export orientation in the defence production ecosystem. This led to many structural changes, policy reforms, institutional changes, simplified export clearances, negative import lists, industrial licensing reforms, liberalised FDI caps, faster procurement pathways, Defence corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, corporatisation of ordnance factories, Startup and MSME integration, and so on so forth. Further, the focus too shifted from import substitution to global competitiveness.
During the last 11-12 years, India’s export did not rise from one institution; instead, it has emerged from a wide ecosystem that include many public and private sector players. Just for instance, Bharat Electronics Limited manufactured radars, communication systems, electronic warfare suites and other battlefield electronics; Bharat Dynamics Limited produced missile systems, guided weapons; Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) manufactures military aircraft, helicopters, and is the premier producer of platforms like the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA); Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) and Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) are leading shipbuilders constructing destroyers, frigates, and submarines for both the Indian Navy and international export. Similarly, some other Defence PSUs have extended their reach and manufacturing potential in different segments.
A significant development has been an upsurge of the Private Sector during the same period bringing efficiency, advanced manufacturing, global supply-chain integration, and so on. Some of such key industrial players include Larsen & Toubro, Adani Defence and Aerospace, Tata Advanced Systems Limited, Kalyani Group, etc. Tatas are indulged in design, development, and building of complex platforms including Wheeled Armoured Amphibious Platforms (WhAP) and transport aircraft; Larsen & Toubro is a major conglomerate producing howitzers, armoured systems, and naval vessels; Kalyani Group is a global player in forging that has emerged as a premier manufacturer of heavy artillery, howitzers, and armoured vehicle platforms; and Solar Industries India Limited is rapidly expanding its footprints in global exports manufacturing industrial and defence-grade explosives, ammunition, and propellants. These are a few illustrations and there are many more private sector big and small companies now actively engaged in production in the defence sector.
India’s defence exports have grown from under ?1,000 crore in 2014 to an all-time high of estimated Rs.38,424 crore in the Financial Year 2025–2026. In the UPA regime decade 2004-05 to 2013-14, the total defence exports stood at a modest ?4,312 crore as per available figures from various sources. These exports surged to more than 21 times during the next ten years from 2014-15 to 2023-24 at a cumulative total of ?88,319 crore. The major platforms exported include the Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launcher, armoured vehicles, mine-protected vehicles, radars, simulators, thermal imagers, body armours, ammunition, small arms, and avionics components. Some other sophisticated platforms include the Dornier-228,155 mm/52 calibre DRDO Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System, BrahMos cruise missile and Akash surface-to-air missile. Then during the last two years, exports have shown a phenomenal growth with Rs.23,622 crore in Financial Year 2024-25 to the record-shattering Rs.38,424 crore in Financial Year 2025-26, marking a 63% year-on-year increase. Of this the Private Sector boasts of a major share at 60% while the remaining 40% is on account of the Defence PSUs. The Ministry of Defence has set an ambitious target of reaching Rs.50,000 crore in defence exports by 2029–30.
Defence Export Data & Analysis
Defence equipment manufactures and export has largely been monopolized by a few nations in the world, the US being the largest supplier globally with about 42% (near monopoly) total share. The top five global arms supplier together currently control almost 70% of the defence trade, the remaining four being France (9.8%), Russia (6.8%), Germany (5.7%) and China (5.6%). Although India still buys a significant part of its defence needs from Russia, France and few other countries yet in the past few years it has successfully geared for self-reliance and export through a large scale indigenization. Countries, particularly developing nations with relatively small GDP, globally seek affordable systems for their defence needs with reliable maintenance and fewer geopolitical restrictions and many of them find India as a reliable and affordable source. As of now, India has developed sufficient potential for the export of missile systems, including BrahMos and Akash systems, Rocket Artillery, Pinaka rocket system, Dhruv helicopters, Air Platforms, Dornier Do-228, patrol vessels, naval equipment, sonar systems, surveillance networks, other equipment and spares etc. Further, other emerging domains include drones, loitering munitions, electronic warfare systems, defence software, and a host of other items.
In the following paragraphs, the author has attempted to summarize India’s defence export data along with a brief analysis therefor. For the sake of convenience and better appreciation of how the country has progressed during the last a little over two decades; the data has been presented in three separate tables, which incidentally also coincide with two different political regimes indicating their ethos, progress and priorities. However, it may be kept in view that most countries, India is not an exception, remain discreet in revealing actual defence expenditure and data; hence details rendered here may be taken as approximate and indicative, and not exact and all inclusive.
Currently, India boasts of over eighty countries on its ever-expanding defence export reach, involving countries in the Southeast Asia such as Philippines and Vietnam, Middle East such as Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, Europe and both Americas (even the United States for subsystems & components). The top five could be listed the US, France, Armenia, Philippines and Egypt. The US is a major importer of Indian-manufactured materials, specialized alloys, steel, components, and sub-systems used in global defence supply chains. France, an important defence collaborator with India, mainly sources advanced defence electronics, sub-systems, and software from India for integration into their aerospace and fighter jet platforms. Armenia is one of the largest buyers of finished Indian weapon systems including the 155mm Advanced Towed Artillery Gun Systems (ATAGS), Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers, and the Akash air defence systems. Philippines is yet another critical buyer in the Indo-Pacific region, most notable for signing a massive agreement for the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile. Then of late, Egypt has also emerged as a significant importer of Indian small arms, personal protective equipment, and different types of ammunition. (Courtesy:www.boloji.com)
(The writer is a former civil servant and held important assignments in Defense and Infrastructure (Power & Energy) Sectors for more than three decades)
