A former Indian Army officer has credited Narendra Modi's government for turning around the nation's defense industry, especially making weapons manufacturers to focus on exports.
The military expert's comments came a day after the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said that India's defense exports have touched an all-time high, reaching a whopping $1.93 billion in 2022-23 from a meager $82 million in 2013-14.
The ministry added that the 23-fold surge in exports highlighted New Delhi's advancements in developing a large-scale defense manufacturing base in the country.
India is now manufacturing Warships, Submarines, Light Combat Aircrafts, Utility Helicopters, and Field Guns, amongst its large defense inventory heralding it among the top arms manufacturing nations in the world.
"These include aircraft like the Dornier-228, artillery guns, Brahmos Missiles, PINAKA rockets and launchers, radars, simulators, and armored vehicles," the statement said.
India Sees Turnaround in Defense Sector
Hailing India's progress as an arms exporter, Lt. Colonel J.S. Sodhi (Retired) told Sputnik on Wednesday that from a decade back when India imported most of its defense requirements, today, the country is exporting arms on a large scale, which clearly shows the turnaround in this sector.
He elaborated that the Service Headquarters of the Indian Army, Indian Air Force, and the Indian Navy have chipped into this gigantic effort by constantly encouraging the Indian arms industry by making General Staff Qualitative Requirements (GSQR) simpler to enable the domestic defense start-ups to also participate in the tendering process.
Sodhi revealed that India today exports arms to 70 countries and is among the top 25 arms exporters in the world ranked at 23.
India's Defence Sector Booming
© Sputnik
The defense analyst noted that India produced weapons worth $8.2 billion in 2022-23 and as India grows in international status and stature, it is poised for a gigantic leap in the times ahead.
"Thus, India has turned the tables from being an arms importer to being an arms exporter in less than a decade," he underlined.
How India Went From Arms Importer to Arms Exporter
India is currently exporting defense equipment to 75 countries, with the government targeting exports worth $15 billion by 2026.
In January 2022, India's BrahMos Aerospace inked a $375 million contract with the Philippines for three BrahMos anti-ship missile systems.
Sodhi stressed that three main reasons have contributed to this turn-around.
"Firstly, the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who showed the desire and direction to India in this revolutionary change. Since India got Independence in 1947, its arms industry started on a small scale but the policies and intent were lacking that could have escalated India's prowess in this field," he pointed out.
He mentioned that was perhaps the reason the executives of the major foreign arms manufacturing companies were frequently seen visiting India and India being a big market for defense soon became the world's biggest importer of arms.
Its domestic arms industry kept on languishing and lagging though India had a talented pool of manpower, and there were many Indians who wished to see their country emerge as a leader in this field.
"But the lure of kickbacks in these mega-defence deals, which resulted in many scams being unearthed, kept India's domestic arms industry at the side-lines," Sodhi mentioned.
The retired official pointed out that the Indian arms industry was still at its nascent stage even 67 years after independence But all that changed when Modi became India's leader in 2014.
A few months after being elected as the Prime Minister of India, Modi, in September 2014 for the first time launched the "Make in India" initiative. It was buttressed by the slogan of "Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-reliant India)" on May 12, 2020.
"Make in India" and "Atmanirbhar Bharat" soon became the guiding mantra for the Indian entrepreneurs and the common citizen which inspired the dormant Indian arms industry too.
In 2013-14, the Indian arms exports were valued at only $82 million which saw a phenomenal seventeen-fold leap to $1.4 billion in the year 2021-22. It is expected to touch $4.2 billion in 2024-25.
"Thirdly, the arms manufacturing companies notably in the private sector like the Tatas, the Kalyani Group, and the Mahindra seized the opportunities that lay ahead in support of the clarion call of self-reliance in the defense sector and started working earnestly in this direction," Sodhi concluded.