Defence exports have surged to a record high of ₹23,622 crore ($2.76 billion) in the Financial Year (FY) 2024-25, a growth of ₹2,539 crore or 12.04% over ₹21,083 crore in FY24, according to Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh.

Singh congratulated all the stakeholders and said India is marching towards achieving the target of increasing defence exports to ₹50,000 crore. "I congratulate all stakeholders on this significant achievement. Under PM @narendramodi’s leadership, India is marching towards achieving the target of increasing defence exports to ₹50,000 crore by 2029," the Union minister said on X.

The ministry data shows the Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) showed a significant increase of 42.85% in their exports in the FY 2024-25, reflecting the growing acceptability of Indian products in the global market. The private sector and DPSUs have contributed ₹15,233 crore and ₹8,389 crore, respectively, in the defence exports of 2024-25, compared to ₹15,209 crore and ₹5,874 crore, respectively, in the year-ago period.

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

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 FY 2024-25 compared to 1,507 in the preceding year, a growth of 16.92%. The total number of exporters also grew by 17.4% in the same period.

As per the Centre, many policy reforms have been brought in by the government in the past few years to boost the Indian defence industry, such as simplification of industrial licensing procedure, removal of parts and components from the license regime, extending the validity period of the license, etc. In addition, the SOP for the grant of export authorisation was further simplified, and more provisions were added in the last financial year to boost exports from the country.