India is aiming to reach a target of Rs 50,000 crore of defence exports by 2030, led by a surge in demand from several countries due to the geopolitical situation, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh has said.
“Yes, this is a good time for defence exports. We reached almost Rs 39,000 crores last year, and we feel that Rs 50,000 crores by 2030 will be easily achievable,” Singh said in an exclusive interview to Moneycontrol.
He said there are as many as 145 companies which export different kinds of equipment, from bulletproof jackets and ballistic helmets to the more complex systems like the BrahMos or the Akash surface-to-air missiles.
Singh said India’s defence public sector units are also getting a lot of export orders now, particularly for standard artillery shells and ammunition. He added that the growth of Indian defence exports in the recent past has been more in public sector exports “taking advantage of some of the global geopolitical conflicts which have led to a lot of countries re-arming.”
“During 2025-26, we had 1800 export authorisations to over 100 countries. And, as I said, about 145 different companies are doing it,” said the top official in the defence ministry. “Defence exports, like the defence industry in general, are now reaching a critical mass,” said Singh.
On export orders for BrahMos missiles, Singh said: “We have potentially three finalised orders —Philippines in the first phase, and both Indonesia and Vietnam on the verge of getting the final contracts done.”
“With Akash and the various types of artillery systems. We’ve had a lot of success with exports to Armenia, for example, and there’s a lot of interest all around,” the Defence secretary said, highlighting the potential for exports.
The country’s defence exports increased from Rs 686 crore in FY 2013–14 to Rs 38,424 crore in FY 2025–26, a growth of over 5500% in twelve years. This has been led by the Make in India initiative and the push for defence self-reliance, according to a government statement.
“India is gradually transitioning from a major importer to a defence manufacturing nation. Nearly 65% of defence equipment is now produced domestically, compared to import dependence of 65–70% earlier,” the statement added.
