Addressing a business seminar 'India Rising', organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce at the Defence & Security Exhibition 2019, he exhorted defence manufacturing companies to join the 'Make in India' initiative.
Under the Draft Defence Production Policy 2018, the Indian government eyes $5 billion defence exports by 2025. "On the one hand this target is ambitious, but at the same time it's encouraging that India's defence exports have grown almost six-fold in the last two years," he said.
$10 billion investment in aerospace and defence goods and services was expected by 2025, which could provide employment to two-three million people, he said.
Singh stressed the government's resolve to promote self-reliance in defence through the five I's Identification, Incubation, Innovation, Integration and Indigenisation.
The Defence Ministry would fund 250 startups, 16 personal initiatives and five defence innovation hubs through the Defence Innovation Organisation in five years.
Over 50 technological designs would be made to meet the armed forces' requirements, while a Defence Innovation Fund was being planned to support the government participation through equity investment in defence startups, he said.
"A new transfer of technology (ToT) policy is being developed to simplify the way of transferring technology by DRDO to the industry. More than 900 ToT licensing agreements have been signed with industries. It's a major step towards making the defence manufacturing sector self-sufficient," Singh said.
The Minister also listed out his ministry's initiatives to increase exports, including simplification of procedures, industry licensing process, increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) cap, streamlining of defence offset policy and making government trial and testing facilities available to the private sector.
"The government plans to establish two defence corridors in Tamil Nadu and UP. A Defence Innovation Hub is functioning in Coimbatore. A Defence Planning Committee has been formed. In this regard, the UP government plans to build a defence manufacturing corridor along with the proposed Bundelkhand Expressway, which will help in making India self-reliant in defence production," the Defence Minister said.
( With inputs from IANS )