Page 22 - Defence Sector

In a first, defence production crosses Rs 1 trillion-mark this year

"The current value of defence production in FY 2022-23 is a rise of more than 12 per cent over FY 2021-22, when the figure was Rs 95,000 crore," the MoD stated

Indian Navy successfully test fires BrahMos supersonic cruise missile

A BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was successfully test-fired from the Indian Navy's frontline guided missile destroyer INS Mormugao, officials said on Sunday. The missile firing demonstrated the Indian Navy's firepower at sea, they said. "INS Mormugao, the latest guided-missile destroyer, successfully hit 'bulls eye' during her maiden BrahMos supersonic cruise missile firing," a Navy official said. "The ship and her potent weapon, both indigenous, mark another shining symbol of 'AatmaNirbharta' and Indian Navy's firepower at sea," the official added. The location of the test-firing of the missile is not immediately known. BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd, an India-Russian joint venture, produces the supersonic cruise missiles that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or land platforms. BrahMos missile flies at a speed of 2.8 Mach or almost three times the speed of sound. India is also exporting the BrahMos missiles. In January last year, India sealed a USD 375 million d

B S Dhanoa highlights necessity of indigenous tech base for defence needs

Former Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa (retd) on Friday highlighted the evolving warfare scenario and emphasised the necessity of an indigenous technology base for the defence needs of the country. He was invited as a chief guest at the National Technology Day celebrations at the Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL) Range Ramgarh in Panchkula. The evolving conflict scenario would require networking of assets and resources with precise targeting and minimum collateral damage, said Dhanoa, according to an official statement here on Friday. TBRL is a laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) which comes under the Ministry of Defence. TBRL Director Prof Parteek Kishore brought out the requirement for the synergetic development of next-generation technologies in collaboration with academia and industry. He said TBRL technology development roadmap as well as for enhancing the test and evaluation capabilities to support indigenous development of comple

Defence sector was like a 'club' for Congress to 'plunder nation': PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday took a swipe at Congress leaders, who allegedly tried to mislead employees of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited employees a few years ago when the Indian Army was deployed on the border, and said they are not even talking about the public sector company now. He also claimed that the defence sector was like "a club for the Congress which their close relatives could plunder". In an apparent reference to former Congress president Rahul Gandhi's allegations of irregularities in the Rafale deal and taking away jobs from HAL, Modi said: "Remember the lies they had spread four-five years ago. They tried to mislead the HAL workers. It was done at a time when our Army was deployed on the border. In this election, the Congress leaders are not at all spelling out the name of HAL." According to him, the reason behind the Congress' silence on HAL was that this was for the first time since its inception, the HAL made a record profit. The Prime Minister said ...

India world's fourth largest defence spender in 2022, says SIPRI report

India was the world's fourth largest military spender in 2022, with its defence spending increasing by around six percent as compared to 2021, a report by Swedish think tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said. The military expenditure report said around 23 percent of the total spending by India was towards funding equipment and infrastructure, including that along the China border where tension continues. However, a major part of the spending was on expenditures like salaries and pensions. With military expenditure of USD 81.4 billion (one billion=100 crore), India's spending was up by six per cent from 2021 and by 47 per cent as compared 2013. "The increase in India's spending shows the effects of its border tensions with China and Pakistan," the report released on Monday said. Expenditure on capital outlays, which funds equipment upgrades for the armed forces and to the military infrastructure along its disputed border with China, amounted to 23 per cen

Competitive bidding must be followed in defence procurement: Rajnath Singh

"Of course, there would be some rare cases when it may not be possible to go for an open tender process. However, such instances should come under exceptions and exceptions should not become the rule"

Guns vs Butter-5: 'India can make do with defence spend of 2% of GDP'

The last of a 5-part series points out that the Standing Committee on Defence report says India will not be able to absorb much more on defence

India exported military hardware worth Rs 15,920 crore in 2022-23: Rajnath

India's defence exports reached an all-time high of Rs 15,920 crore in the financial year 2022-2023, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Saturday describing the rise as a remarkable achievement. The country's defence exports in 2021-22 was Rs 12,814 crore, according to official data. "India's defence exports have reached an all-time high of Rs 15,920 crore in FY 2022-2023. It is a remarkable achievement for the country," Singh said on Twitter. "Under the inspiring leadership of PM Shri @narendramodi, our defence exports will continue to grow exponentially," he said. India exported military hardware worth Rs 8,434 crore in 2020-21, Rs 9,115 crore in 2019-20, and Rs 10,745 crore in 2018-19, according to details provided by Singh. The amount in 2017-18 was Rs 4,682 crore and Rs 1,521 crore in 2016-17. The government has set the target of manufacturing defence hardware worth Rs 1,75,000 crore and take defence exports to Rs 35,000 crore by 2024-25. In the last few years, the gover

Defence sector reforms delivering good results: PM on record high exports

With defence exports reaching an all-time high, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that it shows the reforms in this sector over the last few years are delivering good results. The government will keep supporting efforts to make India a defence production hub, he tweeted. The prime minister was reacting to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's tweet that India's defence exports reached an all-time high of Rs 15,920 crore in the fiscal year which ended on Friday. It is a remarkable achievement for the country, Singh said. Modi said, "Excellent! A clear manifestation of India's talent and the enthusiasm towards 'Make in India.' It also shows the reforms in this sector over the last few years are delivering good results. Our Government will keep supporting efforts to make India a defence production hub.

Guns vs Butter-II: Indian military's quest for indigenous weaponry

The second of a five-part series takes a close look at the military's push for acquisition of defence equipment from domestic sources rather than from overseas

Defence exports will rise up to Rs 40,000 cr by 2026: Rajnath Singh

India would be exporting defence equipment and material worth Rs 35,000 to Rs 40,000 crore by 2026, Union minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday. The defence minister was delivering the Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw memorial lecture here on 'The role of youth in nation building', organized by Symbiosis International University. "First, there should be a sense of self-confidence that we will make India 'atmanirbhar' (self-reliant). In 2014, we used to do defence exports of only Rs 900 crore, but since India has adopted Indianization (program), today we are doing the defence export of Rs 15,000 crore to Rs 16,000 crore," he said. He was confident that by 2026, defence sector exports would rise to Rs 35,000 to Rs 40,000 crore, the minister added. "There is a need to create an eco-system, and more than the eco-system, there is a need to generate self-confidence among ourselves, as with self-confidence, anything is possible," he added. He was proud of the defence forces which are now ...

India to work with African nations to promote regional security: Rajnath

India will continue to work with African nations to promote regional security, foster stability, and enhance the defence capabilities together, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said here on Tuesday. He also said India is steadfast in its commitment to provide support to African partner countries in all defence-related matters, including capability enhancement of their armed forces, to ensure their economic growth and social development. Singh was speaking at the first edition of the India-Africa Army Chiefs Conclave organised on the sidelines of the 2nd Africa-India Joint Exercise 'AFINDEX'. "As maritime neighbours linked by the Indian Ocean, our cooperation in maritime security and hydrography and countering terrorism and extremism will be essential for regional peace and prosperity," he said. He emphasised that the full potential of a nation's progress can be realised only when its security is ensured. The conclave was attended by Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Pande and ch

India to support African partner nations in all defence matters: Rajnath

India is steadfast in its commitment to provide support in all defence-related matters to African partner countries, including capability enhancement of their armed forces, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said here on Tuesday. Speaking at the conclave of Army chiefs in which 31 delegates from African nations participated, including 10 Army chiefs, Singh said India is at the forefront of providing training to the armed forces of African countries. He said the training programmes cover a wide range of areas including counter-insurgency, maritime security and specialised training in new domains such as drone operations and cyber warfare. India is steadfast in its commitment to provide support in all defence-related matters to our African partner countries including capability enhancement of their armed forces, he said. Noting that India has emerged as a leading defence exporter in recent years, Singh also invited African countries to explore Indian defence equipment and technologies.

Govt nods to 45 companies/JVs operating in defence sector with foreign OEMs

The government has given approval to "45 companies/joint ventures" operating in the defence sector with foreign OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), the Parliament was informed on Friday. Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said this in written response to a query in the Lok Sabha. "The government has given approval to 45 companies/JVs operating in defence sector with foreign OEMs," he said responding to a query on the number of foreign companies who have shown interest in manufacturing defence equipment under foreign direct investment in the country. Further, the government has taken several policy initiatives in the past few years and brought reforms to encourage indigenous design, development and manufacture of defence equipment in the country, thereby reducing dependency on imports in coming years, he said. "These initiatives, inter alia, include according priority to procurement of capital items from domestic sources under Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP)-2020; .

PM Modi hails approval for capital acquisition of military hardware

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday hailed the approval for proposals worth more than Rs 70,500 crore in the defence sector as a "boost to self-reliance" and said it was a reaffirmation of the faith in Indian talent. India on Thursday approved the capital acquisition of a plethora of indigenously-developed military hardware, including the indigenous BrahMos missiles, marine diesel engines, artillery gun systems, electronic warfare suits and utility helicopters, at a cost of Rs 70,584 crore as part of a mega procurement plan. All the platforms and weapons systems are being procured from domestic sources. Tagging Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's tweet asserting that persistent efforts are being undertaken to ensure self-reliance in the defence sector and proposals worth more than Rs 70,500 crore have been approved, Modi said, "A boost to self-reliance in defence, also reaffirming our faith in Indian talent." In another tweet, the prime minister urged people to visit the Matua Maha

Russia remains India's main arms supplier but imports dip sharply

India has been the world's largest arms importer since 1993 and "tensions with Pakistan and China largely drive its demand for arms imports," the report added

Shyam Metalics eyes $1 bn in revenue from stainless steel business

Company preps up expansion plan after acquiring Mittal Corp through the insolvency process

Giorgia Meloni visit: India, Italy open new chapter of defence ties

Italy and India have also decided to elevate bilateral relations to a strategic partnership

Cabinet okays buying 70 HTT-40 trainer aircraft from HAL for Rs 6,800 crore

HAL says it will engage Indian private industry, including micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), in its supply chain

World Civil Defence day 2023 celebrated today: Theme, History, Importance

World Civil Defence Day is observed to promote the value of being prepared for emergencies and to increase public awareness of civil defence and emergency management