India Could Export Ammunitions Of Over Rs 60,000 Cr: P Upadhyay, DG, Naval Armament

The government implemented many policy reforms and put 4,250 items on the positive indigenisation list to promote indigenous production which could lead to the ammunition export of Rs 60,000 to 70,000 crore, said P Upadhyay, Director General of Naval Armament (DGONA).

“The government has been working to enhance defence testing infrastructure and labs which can used for private sectors. On the other hand, we should focus on aligning the supply chain that could sustain orders from all three services,” Upadhyay said while speaking at the PHDCCI’s event about “Ramping up Ammunition Production” in New Delhi.

He also said that the import bans on certain items also pushed foreign companies to set up manufacturing plants in India to meet domestic demand and export.

The ongoing conflicts have already had an adverse impact, thus we must reduce our dependence and focus on fostering production, which will boost tech innovation, Upadhyay added.

The army, which was highly reliant on imports to satisfy annual requirements until a few years ago, has already found indigenous sources for nearly 150 of the 175 types of ammunition it uses and it plans to fully eliminate imports by 2025-26.

With gradual import limits through a positive indigenisation list, just 5-10 per cent of requirements are currently fulfilled by overseas sources.

Aside from the now-corporatised ordnance factories, other private sector firms have entered the field in recent years, with new ammunition manufacturers opening across the country. The army believes that with increased capacity, Indian enterprises may become key players in the international market as well.

Recently, defence exports have touched a record Rs 21,083 crore in the Financial Year FY 2023-24, a growth of 32.5 per cent over the last fiscal when the figure was Rs 15,920 crore, according to the government data.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which tracks global arms transfers, the total value of international arms transfers in 2020 was estimated at over 8 lakh crore including imports and exports.

In 2018, the Government of India unveiled a Defense Production Policy to achieve a turnover of Rs 2 lakh crore in defence manufacturing by 2025, including exports of Rs 42,000 crore.

Sangeet Kumar Sanu

BW Reporters Sangeet Kumar Sanu as a Correspondent reports on Defence, Space and Foreign Affairs for BW since 2022.