Defense production in India receives a fillip

Article Title: Defense production in India receives a fillip

09-06-2025

Economy Current Affairs Analysis

Context

• As India’s defence production and exports have hit record highs in the past financial year, contributions from private defence companies and MSMEs have increased. • The stocks of various defence companies rose significantly in the week of Operation Sindoor and even beat the performance of the largest 50 companies on the National Stock Exchange.

• While India continues to import a large share of its defence equipment and weapons, government data shows that domestic manufacturing has picked up.

India’s defence exports have picked up and exceeded ₹20,000 crore in the past two financial years.

• India’s defence exports include small arms, protective gear, and artillery. The export target set for the current fiscal is ₹30,000 crore.

• While public sector companies account for a majority of the total defence production, private companies are steadily carving out a larger share for themselves.

• They accounted for about 20% of the total defence production in FY17; this continued till FY24. In FY25, their share has increased to almost 24%.

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