A top defence ministry official said that India, in 2021-22, exported defence items and technology worth a record ₹13,000 crore, an impressive 54.1 per cent rise over the previous year.
India’s defence exports are chiefly to the United States, the Philippines and other countries in the South-East Asia, the Middle-East and Africa.
Sanjay Jaju, Additional Secretary in the Department of Defence Production (DDP), told a press briefing, “In 2021-22, we have recorded ₹13,000 crore of exports which is the highest ever exports number that we have recorded in defence.”
Sanjay Jaju also said that the exports in 2021-22 were almost eight times of what they were about five years ago.
India’s defence exports were worth ₹8,434 crore in 2020-21, ₹9,115 crore in 2019-20 and ₹2,059 crore in 2015-16.
“There has been good progress. Of course, two years of COVID-19 was a bit of a setback. But this year, we have been able to record this number (of ₹13,000 crore),” Sanjay Jaju noted.
He also said that defence exports registered a record ₹13,000 crore with 70 per cent contribution coming from the private sector and the remaining 30 per cent from the public sector.
Sanjay Jaju also said that private sector companies dominate the defence exports market with a share of almost 90 per cent.
At an event titled “Artificial Intelligence in Defence” on Monday, the defence ministry will reward a private sector organisation and another from the public sector that performed the best in defence exports, he said.
Live Mint