Reduction in imports and increase in exports will be achieved in the defenc

Bengaluru: The government has set a goal to reduce imports of defence equipment by $2 billion by 2022. For this indigenous manufacture of defence, equipment is being encouraged. 137 projects for defence equipment manufacture, with a cost outlay of $37 billion have been approved between 2016 and 2019. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that if the targets of taking the indigenous defence manufacture to $25 billion and exports to $5 billion, have to be achieved the Aerospace industry in the country will have to make a major contribution.

The Aero India 2021 held in Bengaluru was concluded. Speaking on this occasion, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh gave this information. The government has signed 128 Memorandums of understanding; these include 19 technology transfer agreements. 18 new products were displayed in the Aero India 2021 and 32 important announcements were made. 45 micro, small and medium companies participated in the Aero India 2021 and 21 companies out of these were awarded contracts worth ₹ 2.03 billion. The Defence Minister expressed satisfaction Saying that this is a huge success for Aero India exhibition.

The government has set the goal to take the defence equipment sector with a total current turnover of $11 billion to $25 billion by 2025. The Defence Minister clarified that the target to take the exports of defence equipment to $5 billion is set as well. The Defence Minister expressed confidence that the Aerospace sector can contribute in a major way in this area. Only a day ago, the Defence Minister announced that India was prepared to supply arms to the countries from the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

The Defence Minister also had recently said that some countries are expressing interest, in purchasing the indigenous Tejas fighter jets. R. Madhavan, Chairman and Managing Director of HAL, said that India was contemplating exporting the Tejas fighter jets at the cost of ₹3.09 billion. This statement of HAL’s chief becomes significant when countries from Southeast Asia and Middle East countries have expressed interest in the Tejas fighter jet.

Meanwhile, memorandum of understanding was signed between HAL and a leading manufacturing company from the United States. Senior officials from Lockheed Martin said that this would create many new opportunities and open many new doors. It has also been revealed that the US company Boing has signed a cooperation agreement for maintenance of the P-8I aircraft with the Indian Navy.