Foreign interest increasing in Made in India weapons: Defense exports increased 10 times in 6 years
Foreign interest increasing in Made in India weapons: Defense exports increased 10 times in 6 years; Last year there were sales of Rs 16 thousand crores
Bhavika Nandwana 
India is becoming self-reliant in defense related products. Brazilian Army Commander General Tomas Miguel Mine Ribeiro Paiva, who visited India last week, has shown interest in 'Made in India' weapons. They are ready to make a deal after seeing the demonstration of ground combat and air defense weapons in the field firing range of Pokaran.
Kenya's Defense Minister Aden Bray Duale also wants to buy naval ships and attack helicopters from India. A decade ago, India was at the top of the list of importing countries in terms of arms purchases. Our defense exports have increased 10 times in 6 years.
In the financial year 2022-23, India has sold indigenous weapons and parts worth Rs 16 thousand crores to 80 countries.
This story of change in the field of defense is not the result of one day's preparation. The government has set a target of defense production worth Rs 14 thousand crore by 2025, while there are preparations for export worth Rs 35 thousand crore in the next five years.
Till a few years ago, India had become one of the top three importers of defense equipment in the world. Earlier, most of the defense budget was spent on salary and pension. This affected our GDP. India started shutting down more than 70 percent of hardware. This proved to be the turning point for us.
