India to Hit Rs 50,000 Crore Defence Export Target by 2028-29: DRDO Chairman

Samir V Kamat, the Chairman of DRDO has said that India would achieve the defence export target of Rs 50,000 crore by 2028-29.

What Did The DRDO Chairman Say?

"We should achieve Rs 50,000 crore by 2028-29, which is the target also set to us by the Raksha Mantri. There is a lot of interest in Pinaka, in ATAGS (Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System), in Brahmos, in Akash," Kamat told reporters at an interaction in Pune, after participating in the convocation ceremony of the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology.

Kamat expressed his confidence that the country's exports of these systems will increase in the coming years.

He added that countries in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa regions are showing interest in Indian defence systems.

India's defence exports rose to a record high of Rs 23,622 crore in the financial year 2024-25. It was a growth of Rs 2,539 crore or 12.04 per cent over the defence exports figures of Rs 21,083 crore in 2023-24.

"Based on the interest that we are getting now, because of the success of our systems in Operation Sindoor, I expect these exports to double in the next two to three years," Kamat said.

The yearly production has soared to an all-time high figure of Rs 150,590 crore in the financial year 2024-25. The milestone represents a robust 18% growth over the previous fiscal's output of Rs 1.27 lakh crore, and a staggering 90% rise since 2019-20, when the figure was Rs 79,071 crore.

Additionally, the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has also appreciated the collective efforts of the Department of Defence Production and all stakeholders in achieving this landmark. He also termed the upward trajectory as a clear indicator of India's strengthening defence industrial base.

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