Defence exports hit record Rs 23,622 cr in FY25, but pace of growth slows

Private sector defence exports stayed largely flat year-on-year

India's defence exports rose to a record Rs 23,622 crore (approximately $2.76 billion) in the financial year (FY) 2024-25, registering a growth of 12.04 per cent over FY 2023-24's Rs 21,083 crore, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a release on Tuesday. However, despite the new high, the pace of growth slowed compared to the 32.4 per cent surge recorded in 2023-24 over the previous year’s Rs 15,920 crore in military equipment exports.

 

The figure recorded in 2024-25 also reflects a 21.26 per cent shortfall against the Rs 30,000 crore target set for the year.

 

"The defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs) have shown a significant increase of 42.8 per cent in their exports in 2024-25, reflecting the growing acceptability of Indian products in the global market and the ability of the Indian defence industry to be a part of the global supply chain," said the MoD. It added that, in 2024-25, the private sector and DPSUs contributed Rs 15,233 crore (64.5 per cent) and Rs 8,389 crore (35.5 per cent), respectively, to defence exports. In comparison, the corresponding figures for 2023-24 stood at Rs 15,209 crore (72 per cent) and Rs 5,874 crore (28 per cent), respectively, indicating that the private sector’s defence exports remained largely flat during the year.

 

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated all stakeholders on the achievement in a post on microblogging platform X. He said that, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is moving towards its target of increasing defence exports to Rs 50,000 crore by 2029.

 

"India has evolved from a largely import-dependent military force to the one increasingly focused on self-reliance and indigenous production," said the MoD. It added that, in a major boost to defence exports, a wide range of items — including ammunition, arms, sub-systems, systems, and parts and components — were exported to around 80 countries in 2024-25. The United States, France and Armenia were the top buyers of Indian defence equipment and components in 2023-24.

 

The Department of Defence Production has a dedicated portal for the application and processing of export authorisation requests, and 1,762 export authorisations were issued in 2024-25, compared to 1,507 in the preceding year, registering a growth of 16.92 per cent. The total number of exporters also increased by 17.4 per cent in the same period, the MoD added.

 

The government has brought in several policy reforms in recent years to boost the Indian defence industry, such as the simplification of the industrial licensing procedure, removal of parts and components from the licensing regime, and extension of the validity period of licences. In addition, the standard operating procedure for granting export authorisation has been further simplified. More provisions were also added in the last financial year to promote exports.