WILL DEFENCE EXPO DELIVER ON DEFENCE EXPORTS?
Geopolitics|March 2022
VIJAY KUMAR SAXENA examines the complex issue of defence exports and the monumental challenges it poses.
VIJAY KUMAR SAXENA
WILL DEFENCE EXPO DELIVER ON DEFENCE EXPORTS?

As the big event of the Def Expo 2022 unfolds from March 10 to 13, 2022 at Gandhinagar, the greenest capital city in entire Asia, it is worth asking: “Are we getting the ‘bang for the buck’?”

Draft Defence Procurement and Export promotion Policy or DPEPP promulgated by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on August 3 2020 talked big on Defence Expos as a main facilitation vehicle in finding new customers and new areas of pushing up defence exports.

The above policy identified the twin events, namely, the Defence Expo and Aero India, to be positioned as major global events for showcasing India’s expertise and capabilities in the defence manufacturing sector to the potential buyer countries for securing export orders.

Is it happening in the Def Expos/ Aero India events gone by? Are we getting the bang for the buck in converting the huge funds spent on such events into substantial export orders? The answer to this poser in the sense of the author is ‘No’. In diluted words- far less than desired. Some hard facts are as under:

1. DPEPP envisioned an export target of $5 billion (Rs 35000 crore) by the year 2025.

2. The total defence exports for the FY 2019-20 were only Rs 9115.55 crore. This further dropped to Rs 8434.84 crore in the FY 2020-21, mainly due to Covid blues.

3. At this rate of growth, we can at best hope to reach 30-40 percent of the target by 2025.

While the above is the dark part of the story, the bright part is also getting to become visible. Some salient details are enumerated as follows:

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 2022 من Geopolitics.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 2022 من Geopolitics.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من GEOPOLITICS مشاهدة الكل
Lessons From Gaza And Lebanon
Geopolitics

Lessons From Gaza And Lebanon

The ongoing war, loosely called the Gaza War, is actually being fought in two different loosely connected segments; against the Hamas with a spill off in the West Bank and East Jerusalem areas against Palestinian factions and against the Hezbollah in Lebanon with a spill off in Syria. Treating Israel-Hamas War and the Lebanon War as separate entities, RAJ MEHTA explains the lessons from these wars

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 2024
POSITIVE STEPS TOWARDS POTENTIAL REGIONAL COOPERATION
Geopolitics

POSITIVE STEPS TOWARDS POTENTIAL REGIONAL COOPERATION

It has been a whirlwind of diplomatic activity for India recently. India participated in both the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation SCO) summit that took place in Islamabad on October 15-16, and the 16th BRICS Summit was held in Kazan, Russia, from October 2224, 2024. These back-to-back summits within a short span of time underscore India's active role in shaping regional and global diplomacy, balancing national interests with multilateral cooperation

time-read
8 mins  |
November 2024
THE EAGLE'S EYE TEJAS MK-II RADAR PIERCES VEIL OF THE SKY
Geopolitics

THE EAGLE'S EYE TEJAS MK-II RADAR PIERCES VEIL OF THE SKY

The Tejas Mk-II, featuring DRDO's GaN-based Uttam AESA radar, marks a major leap in India's defence, enhancing range, precision, and multi-target tracking capabilities, highlights GIRISH LINGANNA

time-read
4 mins  |
November 2024
PRIME MOVER
Geopolitics

PRIME MOVER

The indigenously developed Wheeled Armoured Platform (WhAP) has received a boost with its first export order from the Kingdom of Morocco

time-read
8 mins  |
November 2024
TRANSFORMATIONAL INDUCTION
Geopolitics

TRANSFORMATIONAL INDUCTION

The GA-ASI MQ-9B will dramatically enhance the ISR and precision strike capabilities of the Indian armed forces

time-read
10 mins  |
November 2024
TACAN PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION
Geopolitics

TACAN PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION

Navigation systems have evolved significantly since the Viking era, with Tactical Air Navigation TACAN) now widely used for air and sea travel. Post-World War Il, reliable systems became essential for safety and efficiency, as highlighted by DR. SUJAN KUMAR SARASWATI, in this article on TACAN’s operational principles.

time-read
10 mins  |
November 2024
AIRBORNE TRACKER
Geopolitics

AIRBORNE TRACKER

Indigenous efforts towards AEW&C and AWACS platforms need to be stepped up even as international programmes extend the current state-of-the-art for such aircraft, highlights

time-read
9 mins  |
November 2024
AFFORDABLE LETHALITY THE INDIAN DILEMMA
Geopolitics

AFFORDABLE LETHALITY THE INDIAN DILEMMA

India's defence dilemma is now being complicated by the lessons learnt in the Ukraine and Gaza wars because these conflicts are reshaping the way wars are fought in the modern world.

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 2024
FROM IMPORTS TO SELF-RELIANCE IN ARMS
Geopolitics

FROM IMPORTS TO SELF-RELIANCE IN ARMS

Self-reliance in Defence Production needs new ideas, new definitions _es and an appropriate methodology, argues AMIT COWSHISH

time-read
9 mins  |
November 2024
"THE INDIAN AIR FORCE IS WORKING HARD TO REMAIN A CREDIBLE AIR FORCE"
Geopolitics

"THE INDIAN AIR FORCE IS WORKING HARD TO REMAIN A CREDIBLE AIR FORCE"

Commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on December 21, 1984, Air Chief Marshal AMAR PREET SINGH PVSM AVSM took over as the 28th Air Chief of India on September 30, 2024.

time-read
5 mins  |
November 2024