In an effort to reduce reliance on imports from countries such as Russia, India’s defense production increased by more than 12% last fiscal year, surpassing 1 trillion rupees ($12 billion), the government announced on Friday.
Over the last decade, India has been the world’s largest importer of arms, with Russia supplying nearly half of its military requirements. However, due to the conflict in Ukraine, the delivery of Russian air defense systems has been delayed, limiting India’s ability to maintain its tank and fighter jet fleets.
According to India’s Ministry of Defense, the value of domestically produced defense increased to 1.07 trillion rupees in the fiscal year ending March 31. This figure was expected to rise further once data from private defense firms was received.
According to the Ministry of Defense, “the government is continuously working with defense industries and their associations to remove challenges faced by them and promote defense production in the country.”
It also stated that during that time, the number of licenses issued to the defense industry nearly tripled.
According to the government, India’s defense exports increased by 24% in the most recent fiscal year, totaling approximately 160 billion rupees.
It exports Dornier-228 planes, artillery guns, Brahmos missiles developed in a joint venture between Russia and Germany, radars, armored vehicles, rockets and launchers, ammunition, and other items.
