India's defence exports surge to record Rs 23,622 crore in 2024-25: Rajnath

India's defence exports have surged to a record high of Rs 23,622 crore (approx. $2.76 billion) in 2024-25 registering a 12.04 per cent growth over the previous fiscal, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday.

Singh also said that the country is poised to achieve the target of Rs 50,000 crore in defence exports by 2029.

India's defence exports in 2023-24 were Rs 21,083 crore.

"India's defence exports have surged to a record high of Rs 23,622 crore in the FY 2024-25," the defence minister said on 'X'. 

"An impressive growth of Rs 2,539 crore or 12.04 per cent has been registered in the just-concluded FY over the defence exports figures of FY 2023-24, which were Rs 21,083 crore," he added.

Singh also congratulated all the stakeholders on this "significant achievement".

"Under PM Shri @narendramodi's leadership India is marching towards achieving the target of increasing defence exports to Rs 50,000 crore by 2029," Singh said.

The Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) have shown a significant increase of 42.85 per cent in their exports in 2024-25, according to an official readout.

It said the surge in the DPSU's exports reflected the growing acceptability of Indian products in the global market and the ability of the country's defence industry to be a part of the global supply chain.

The private sector and DPSUs have contributed Rs 15,233 crore and Rs 8,389 crore respectively in defence exports of 2024-25, the defence ministry said in the readout.

The corresponding figures for 2023-24 were Rs 15,209 crore and Rs 5,874 crore respectively, it added.

"India has evolved from a largely import-dependent military force to one increasingly focused on self-reliance and indigenous production," the ministry said.

"In a major boost to defence exports, a wide range of items from ammunition, arms, sub-systems/systems and parts & components have been exported to around 80 countries in the just-concluded financial year," it said.

The ministry said the Department of Defence Production has a dedicated portal for 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.

The total number of exporters also grew by 17.4 per cent in the same period, it said.