India is going to actively promote defence exports as it finds there is an increasing demand for Indian made avionics.
This was announced by Narendra Singh Sisodia, secretary, defence production and supplies, at the Aero India 2003 which officially opens on Wednesday.
Mr Sisodia said, "As there is no proactive export policy for defence products, India's exports have witnessed a varied fluctuation in the past few years. Even though the defence buying worldwide is seen to be shrinking, we are seriously looking at countries where there is a demand for our products."
So far, Indian defence exports have varied between Rs 200-400 crore and it has been tough to maintain a steady growth as there was no thrust given to this aspect.
"Currently, we are also focusing on marketing what we have already manufactured, in various countries. There is a need for a stringent export control regime as we there are clauses (restrictions) that do not allow us to export to countries which have an adverse ethnic population (Pakistan), a country that cannot pay or has a dictatorship and various other restrictions on these lines," Mr Sisodia added.
According to him, the previously held aerospace exhibitions in Bangalore have showcased the developments made by the country in defence and aviation.
As a result, this show, the fourth so far, has seen an increase in participation from 157 companies in 2001 to 176 companies this year. So a new hall has been added, giving the facility 26 per cent more space.
A budget of Rs 8 crore, which is the highest ever allocation for Aero India, has been made for this year. A total of 68 aircraft (16 foreign and 52 Indian) will be on static/flying display.
