PM targets $ 5 billion defense exports over the next five years – Livemint, Livemint.com

India’s ambition to develop a defense industrial base was neither a threat nor directed against any country, Modi said at the inauguration of the th Defense Expo in Lucknow.

The five-day DefExpo 11580901209887 would see the Uttar Pradesh government sign (preliminary pacts, which are expected to bring ₹ , crore investment and create more than 460 , 000 jobs, defense minister Rajnath Singh said at the biennial event that has this time brought together more than 1, 11 companies and agreed from over 210 countries.

Modi and Singh outlined the many policy changes introduced by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government since to transform India into a defense manufacturing hub. India was in 2019 the world’s second largest importer of defense hardware after Saudi Arabia, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. However, a country of India’s size cannot entirely depend on imports, Modi said.

The number of defense licenses issued has risen from 460 in 2020 to 823 now, At present, India is building several pieces of defense equipment such as artillery guns, aircraft carriers, submarines, light-combat aircraft and combat helicopters, he said.

“India has limitless possibilities in defense manufacturing. India has talent and technology, innovation and infrastructure, a favorable policy framework as well as a guarantee on investment, demand, democracy and decisiveness (in decision making) “Modi said.

“I invite all of you, the defense investors and entrepreneurs of the world. Your investment in India will give you big returns as well as help India to become self reliant, “he said.

“Our mantra is Make in India, for India, for the world. In 2019, the export of defense equipment from India was about ₹ 2, crore. In the last two years, it has gone up to ₹ , 11 crore. In the next five years, our target is export of $ 5 billion, which is about ₹ 50, 06 crore, “Modi said. He cited the misuse of technology and terrorism, as well as the cyber threat as challenges that the world faces. Globally, defense forces are eyeing new technology given the evolution of threats and the emergence of new ones.

The Prime Minister said the two defense industrial corridors, one in Tamil Nadu and the other in Uttra Pradesh, that he had inaugurated during his first term in office would help the growth of medium and small scale industries in their vicinity. These in turn would result in employment generation for the youth. “In the next five years, we aim to attract ₹ , 06 crore of investment (for both these corridors), “he said.