New defence policy to pitch India as global export hub by 2025

<p class="p1">India has set a target to achieve a turnover of Rs 1.75 lakh crore ($25 billion) including an export of Rs 35,000 Crore ($ 5 billion) in aerospace and defence goods and services by 2025.</p>
<p class="p1">This is part of the draft Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy (DPEPP 2020) announced yesterday.</p>
<p class="p1">Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced the draft policy through a tweet yesterday. "In order to provide impetus to self-reliance in Defence manufacturing and to position India amongst the leading countries of the world in Defence and Aerospace sectors, a draft Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020 (DPEPP 2020) has been formulated," he said.</p>
<p class="p1">In implementing such a framework and to position India amongst the leading countries of the world in defence and aerospace sectors, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has formulated a draft Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020 (DPEPP 2020).</p>
<p class="p1">The DPEPP 2020 is envisaged as an overarching guiding document of MoD to provide a focused, structured, and significant thrust to defence production capabilities of the country for self-reliance and exports.</p>
<p class="p1">The policy proposes to develop a dynamic, robust, and competitive defence industry, including aerospace and naval shipbuilding industry to cater to the needs of armed forces with quality products.</p>
<p class="p1">It also seeks to reduce dependence on imports and take forward "Make in India" initiatives through domestic design and development. The policy's aim is to promote export of defence products and become part of the global defence value chains.</p>
<p class="p1">It emphasizes the creation of an environment that encourages R&D, rewards innovation, creates Indian IP ownership, and promotes a robust and self-reliant defence industry.</p>
<p class="p1">The policy brings out multiple strategies under the focus areas of procurement reforms, indigenization and support to MSMEs/startups, optimize resource allocation, investment promotion, FDI and Ease of Doing business, innovation, and R&D, DPSUs and OFB, quality assurance and testing infrastructure and export promotion.</p>
<p class="p1">The vision as stated in the policy is "To make India amongst the leading countries of the world in the Defence sector, including Aerospace and Naval Shipbuilding sectors, from design to production, with the active participation of public and private sector and thus fulfilling the twin objectives of self-reliance and exports".</p>.