Energizing Defence Exports: Roadmap to a US$5bn Market
India, in recent years, announced a defence export strategy and a string of incentives to facilitate exports of military hardware including weapons, platforms and systems and their parts. The “Export Booklet” has listed weapons and Systems under five broad categories, Land Systems, Naval Systems, Air Systems, Communication Systems and Other Systems and their sub-systems.
Defence exports have surged in the last three years from Rs 4682 crores in 2017-18 to Rs 8320.09 crores in 2018-19 and Rs 8595.47 crores in 2019-20 which amounts to less than 0.5% of total exports. Interestingly, only about Rs 800 crores has been exported by the DPSU/OFBs and the balance by the private sector. The target for 2020-21 is Rs. 15,000 crores. In effect, given India’s very robust A&D industrial capacity resident in the DPSUs, OFBs and the private sector Indian defence exports could and should do much better.
In order to enter the Global Arms trade as an important player in the highly specialized and technology driven defence ecosystem, India needs to develop smart strategies to energise its defence exports. Such a strategy should include, at one level, niche platforms and systems directed towards well identified target countries, various promotional mechanisms through offsets, counter trade options. At another level India’s highly innovative and talented MSMEs have to ramp up quality, quantity and value to become Tierised suppliers of choice to Foreign OEMs. At yet another level, India as the defacto net security provider in the IOR, could provide diplomatic support to promote defence exports to friendly foreign countries to help build local capability against terrorism, piracy, illegal trade and trafficking, resource protection etc. using Indian built platforms and systems.
To discuss these strategies and identify specific interventions for promotion of defence exports FICCI, with SAMDeS as its Knowledge partner, will host an e-symposium on Energising Defence Exports – Roadmap to a US$5 bn market by 2025. The e-symposium will have participation from Experts from Government, Services and Industry to seek solutions to:-
- How can the SMEs join the global supply chain- challenges and opportunities.
- What role and responsibilities can we assign our Attaches to promote Indian A&D industry?
- Why are we not able to export premium world class Indian systems and platforms – such as Akash SAM, OPVs, BarhMos, HTT40, LCH and so on?
- How can the MEA work with MoD and MOCI/MoF to facilitate exports?
- How can we increase the DPSU contribution to defence exports, on which supply chain many MSMEs can prosper, from about Rs 800 crs in 2018-19 to Rs 8000 crores by 2025 ?
- What further interventions are required to energize defence exports?
To debate these issues do register for the E-Symposium on Catalysing Defence Exports scheduled on 09 Sep 2020. The Chief of Defence Staff will deliver the inaugural address and senior officers from MEA and MoD will share policy initiatives to develop defence exports,, industry leaders wil present their perspective to add to Atmanirbhar Raksha Utpadan.
Can we think of an export model in which we couple defence exports with non defence Indian tech as an added incentive. It looks far fetched but may be a very attractive package for the beneficiary
Its certainly an idea worth developing. With so much of technology diffusion the silos of defence nd non defence technology is slowly crumbling. would be nice if you could suggest some linkages too.
A great initiative indeed. How can one be part of the symposium?
I am Deputy General manager in HAL
Welcome and Thanks.
I wil be posting the link for registration and other details on the website in a day or two. Mr Bhaskar MD, Helicopter complex is a speaker too.