Rajnath Singh said new policy for transfer of technology had been signed with industries
India has set a target of exporting military equipment worth $5 billion by 2025, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in Bangkok on Monday, inviting global defence majors to be part of India growth story.
In an address at a seminar on "India Rising", he said the Modi government was committed to making the country a major hub of defence manufacturing and transform it into a $26 billion industry in the next six years.
Mr Singh said $10 billion investment in aerospace and defence goods and services was expected by 2025 which could provide employment to two-three million people.
He is in Bangkok primarily to attend the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) grouping, a platform comprising ASEAN and its eight dialogue partners including India.
The Defence Minister said a new policy for transfer of technology (ToT) was being formulated to simplify the process to transfer technology developed by the DRDO to the industry. He said more than 900 ToT licensing agreements had been signed with industries so far.
"The government has set a target of taking India's defence exports to $5 billion by 2025 under the Draft Defence Production Policy 2018," Mr Singh said. "On one hand this target is ambitious, but at the same time it is encouraging that India's defence exports have grown almost six-fold in the last two years," he added.
Mr Singh said the defence sector was given prominence under the Make in India initiative and the aim is to reduce dependence on imports and make the country a net exporter of defence equipment and platforms.
He also listed out various initiatives taken by the defence ministry to encourage exports.