India's defence exports for the fiscal year to March reached INR384.24 billion ($4.11 billion), a jump of more than 62 per cent from the previous period, the government said in a statement on Thursday.
India exported INR236.22 billion ($2.52 billion) worth of defence exports from April 2024 to March 2025, the statement said, adding that defence exports for the 2025-2026 fiscal year rose by INR148.02 billion.
The sharp rise signals increasing global acceptance of Indian-made defence products and the sector’s growing integration into international supply chains, the statement said.
"India, which once upon a time used to depend on other countries for weapons or was known for imports, is moving fast in exports as well," Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in a speech on Thursday.
India currently exports defence equipment to more than 80 countries, the government said.
In recent years, India has pushed to manufacture everything from guns and drones to fighter jets and submarines at home, either on its own or in collaboration with foreign partners.
India is the world’s fifth-largest military spender and the second-largest arms importer after Ukraine, according to the latest data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
(Reporting by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing by Kevin Buckland)
