The value of Indian defence exports for the FY22 has hit a high of Rs.12,815 crore, showing an increase from Rs.8,435 crore in FY21.
Defence procurement from MSMEs hit a record high for the financial year 2021-22 as per the government data. The purchase of goods and services from MSMEs during the year increased 33.8% to Rs.5,760 crore in the FY21. In comparison to pre-covid, FY22 jumped 79.7% from Rs.3,204 crore. The value of Indian defence exports during FY22 has reached Rs.12,815 crore.
Minister of State for Defence, Ajay Bhatt stated that MSMEs are the important partners in the projects of Defence research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and in turn, DRDO transfers technologies to them while sharing data in the Rajya Sabha.
“DRDO through its scheme Technology Development Scheme (TDF) funds industries, especially startups and MSMEs up to an amount of Rs 10 crore for innovation, research and development of defence technologies in the field of defence and aerospace,” said Bhatt.
Defence purchases through business-to-government(B2G) portal Government eMarketplace (GEM) has also recorded a hit of over 250% in FY22. According to the Ministry statement, procurement orders through GEM have registered an all-time high of Rs.15,047.98 crore in FY22. Similarly, the number of MSME vendors has also increased from 8,643 in FY19 to 10,506 till Q2 FY20.
“MSMEs started their journey with DPSUs as their supply chain partners but today, they have come up to a level where they are playing an important role in discharging offset obligations, revenue procurement, and also in designing, developing, and manufacturing complete defence systems by themselves,” said Dr Mayank Dwivedi, Director, Industry Interface & Technology Management (DIITM), DRDO at an event organised by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry in March, 2022.
The government has also introduced ‘MAKE Projects’ in Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 to encourage design and development of defence equipment with both government and industry funding.
