The Modi government is going full steam to meet an ambitious target of $5 billion worth of military exports annually by 2025, reported the Economic Times.

The Indian government wants to encourage government-to-government deals, using lines of credit to friendly foreign nations.

It also has plans to brand the home developed weapons at international shows. In the draft Defence Promotion and Export Promotion Policy, the Defence Ministry has set a target for Defence PSUs and the Ordnance Factory Board to achieve 25% of their revenues from exports within the next five years.

To achieve this target, a more proactive role for Indian missions abroad has been planned along with an aggressive marketing campaign.

The draft policy reads, “Subject to strategic considerations, domestically manufactured defence products will be promoted through government-to-government agreements and lines of credit or funding”.

Some of the PSUs will be projected as export promotion agencies for specific nations. The earnings from such sale will directly be linked to the business generated, incentivising performance.

Right now the government is offering through direct the lethal Brahmos cruise missile system and the Akash air defence system. In the running are also the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft and a range of choppers manufactured indigenously.

Other products include torpedoes, fast attack craft and a range of naval systems.

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To end the dependency on weapons systems from foreign suppliers and to build a major defence industrial base (DIB) within the next five years, the Ministry of Defence released a draft defence production and export promotion policy (DPEPP 2020) on Monday. The objective is to achieve a turnover of ₹1,75,000 Crores ($ 25 billion), including export of ₹ 35,000 Crore ($ 5 billion) in aerospace and defence goods and services by 2025.

The DPEPP-2020 is envisaged as overarching guiding document of Defence Ministry to provide a focused, structured and significant thrust to defence production capabilities of the country for self-reliance and exports.

The Modi government wants to develop a dynamic, robust and competitive defence industry, including aerospace and naval shipbuilding industry to cater to the needs of the armed forces.

To make sure the objectives are achieved, the government would have to make some changes to some of its public sector units, such as the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) and its 50 labs.

The infrastructure of the four defence shipyards would require massive overhaul along with the five defence PSUs and 41 ordnance factories to deliver cutting-edge weapon systems without huge time and cost overruns.

The current standoff with China has furthered the importance for indigenous development of high-grade military hardware and cutting edge technology in the defence sector.

The draft DPEPP says the aim is to reduce dependence on imports and take forward “Make in India” initiatives through domestic design and development, and also export of defence products as part of the overall ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ policy.

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