The value of defence production in the financial year (FY) 2022-23 has crossed the figure of one lakh crore rupees for the first time ever due to several initiatives by the government, Union Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt informed the Lok Sabha on Friday.

Union Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt on Friday informed the Lok Sabha that the value of defence production has crossed the figure of one lakh crore rupees for the first time ever during the financial year 2022-23. He was answering a question from Prataprao Jadhav.

In his written reply, Ajay Bhatt also said that the Union government has introduced several measures to encourage indigenous design, development and manufacture of defence equipment by the Indian industry, including MSMEs and several start-ups, thereby promoting ease of doing business in defence manufacturing and technology in the country.

Throwing light on several government schemes that promote the involvement of MSMEs and start-ups, Ajay Bhatt added that Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 has special provisions to propel MSMEs and start-up ecosystems in the defence sector.

Furthermore, public sector undertakings (PSUs) in the defence sector and three services have also put 30,000 defence items on the Srijan portal to pursue 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' in defence production, Union Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt added in his reply.

Talking about several schemes of the Union Government that are launched to foster innovation and technology in the defence sector, Ajay Bhatt highlighted the Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) scheme that grants and supports funds to carry out research and development (R&D) in futuristic technologies.