India's defence exports touch record $2.63bln in 2023-24, up 32.5%

New Delhi: India's defence exports have touched a record Rs 21,083 crore (approximately $2.63 billion) in the financial year 2023-24, with a growth of 32.5 per cent over the last fiscal when the figure was Rs 15,920 crore, a Ministry of Defence release said.

The recent figures indicate that the defence exports have grown by 31 times in the last 10 years as compared to 2013-14.

The defence industry, including the private sector and defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs), has made tremendous efforts in achieving the highest-ever defence exports. The private sector and the DPSUs have contributed about 60 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively.

In addition, there has been a rise in the number of export authorisations issued to the defence exporters during 2023-24. From 1,414 export authorisations in 2022-23, the number jumped to 1,507 in 2023-24, the ministry said.

A comparative data of two decades -- the period from 2004-05 to 2013-14 and 2014-15 to 2023-24 reveals that there has been a growth of 21 times in the defence exports.

Total defence exports during 2004-05 to 2013-14 were Rs 4,312 crore, which has gone up to Rs 88,319 crore in the period from 2014-15 to 2023-24.

The remarkable growth has been achieved due to the policy reforms and 'Ease of Doing Business' initiatives brought in by the government, in addition to the end-to-end digital solution provided to the Indian industries for promoting defence exports. This growth is a reflection of global acceptability of Indian defence products and technologies.

Through a post on X, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated all stakeholders on crossing the new milestone in defence exports.

"Our defence industries including the Private Sector & DPSUs have registered a commendable performance in the recent years. Congratulations to all stakeholders on crossing the new milestone in defence exports," his 'X' post read.