What’s in News:

• “India has undertaken a transformative journey from being the largest defence importer to an exporter:; Defence Minister at the curtain raiser event of the 12th edition of DefExpo in Gandhinagar.

About the DefExpo 

• The biennial exhibition has been organised to support, showcase and forge partnerships for the Indian aerospace and defence manufacturing sectors with Indian as well as global customers to achieve the overall objective of catering to domestic requirements while fulfilling the needs of friendly foreign countries. 
• The Defence Minister described ‘Path to Pride’ as not just a theme of DefExpo 2022, but a ‘Make in India, Make for the World’ vision of a ‘New India’.
• 75 countries will be participating in DefExpo 2022. The Defence Minister will host the second India-Africa Defence Dialogue (IADD) on October 18, while the Indian Ocean Region plus (IOR+) conclave will take place on October 19. More than 53 African countries have been invited for IADD and 44 for IOR+ conclave.
  • India-Africa Defence Dialogue (IADD) and the Indian Ocean Region (IOR)-plus conclave will see India pitching its military hardware to various countries.

IADD

• India’s approach towards Africa is guided by the Kampala Principles enunciated by the Prime Minister in 2018.
• The IADD will explore new areas of convergence for mutual engagement, including in areas like capacity building, training, cyber security, maritime security and counter terrorism
• The Gandhinagar Declaration was adopted as an outcome document of IADD 2022. It proposes to enhance cooperation in the field of training in all areas of mutual interest by increasing training slots and deputation of training teams, empowerment and capability building of the defence forces of Africa, participation in exercises and humanitarian assistance during natural disasters.
  • India and Africa share a robust partnership, which is based on the cooperative framework of ‘SAGAR’ (Security and Growth for All in the Region), drawn upon the ancient ethos of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ (The World is One Family).

What are the figures in defence exports?

• The government has set a target to achieve a manufacturing turnover of $25 billion, or ₹1,75,000 crore, including exports of $5 bn in aerospace and defence goods and services by 2025. The government has announced a series of measures in this direction.
• The country’s defence exports which have been growing year on year in the past few years touched ₹13,000 crore for 2021-22.
• The U.S. was a major buyer, as also nations in Southeast Asia, West Asia and Africa.
• The private sector accounted for 70% of the exports, while public sector firms accounted for the rest.
• According to the latest report of the Swedish think tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), three Indian companies figure among the top 100 defence companies in the 2020 rankings — Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Ordnance Factory Board and Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL). Their aggregated arms sales of $6.5 billion were 1.7% higher in 2020 than in 2019 and accounted for 1.2% of the top 100 total.
• There was an overall drop in India’s arms imports between 2011-15 and 2016-20, according to another SIPRI report of 2020 and while India remained among the top importers, it was also included in the Top 25 defence exporters.

Initiatives taken for indigenization of defence products·          

• The liberalisation of foreign direct investment in defence manufacturing, raising the limit under the automatic route to 74%, should open the door to more joint ventures of foreign and Indian companies for defence manufacturing in India.
• Mission Raksha Gyan Shakti- The Ministry of Defence launched it in 2018 with the goal of increasing Intellectual Property (IP) in the Defense Production Ecosystem
• India’s Defence Technology Industrial Base (DTIB)·
• Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) has been tasked with promoting indigenous equipment in the armed force
• Defence India Startup Challenge– Read at https://officerspulse.com/defence-india-startup-challenge/
• Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020– Read at https://officerspulse.com/draft-defence-production-and-export-promotion-policy-2020/
• Defence Procurement Procedures (DPP) 2020– It allows for the publication of a list of weapons or platforms that cannot be imported
• FDI in defence production and indigenization of manufacturing costs.
• Numerous new concepts, including the need for artificial intelligence in platforms and systems, the use of indigenous software in defence equipment, and ‘innovation’ by start-ups and MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) as a new category of defence purchase.
• Buy (Indian – Indigenously Designed, Developed, and Manufactured), Buy (Indian), Buy and Make (Indian), Buy (Global – Manufacture in India), and Buy (Global – Manufacture in India) (Global).
  • It raises the Indigenous Content (IC) requirement for all projects from 40 to 50 percent previously, depending on the category, to 50 to 60 percent now.
  • Foreign vendors can receive 30% IC from Indian enterprises only if they purchase through Buy (Global).
• Defence Industrial Corridors– Read at https://officerspulse.com/defence-industrial-corridors/
• SRIJAN Portal- The Department of Defence Production has created an indigenization webpage, srijandefence.gov.in, titled ‘opportunities for Make in India’ in Defense, that would provide information on things that can be indigenized by the private sector.
  • DPSUs/OFBs/SHQs can use this portal to exhibit things that they have been importing or will be importing that the Indian industry can design, develop, and produce according to their capabilities or through joint ventures with OEMs.
• Corporatization of the Ordnance Factory Boards– Read at https://officerspulse.com/ordnance-factory-board-corporatisation/
• Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX)– Read at https://officerspulse.com/innovations-for-defence-excellence-idex-initiative/

References:

1. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1868820
2. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=1868584
3. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/defexpo-2022-to-be-held-in-gujarat-from-october-18-23/article65747543.ece
4. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/at-defexpo-2022-india-to-pitch-military-hardware-to-africa-ior-countries/article66022789.ece