Aerospace and Defense Market in India 2023

The aerospace and defense market in India offers an appealing and significant opportunity for both, Indian and foreign, companies throughout its supply chain. Several significant products are being developed through in-house research and development initiatives, as well as several products and equipment have been produced through technology transfer. The aerospace industry in India is expanding rapidly, owing to increased activity in both, the defense and civil aviation sectors.

Market insights:

The Ministry of Defense (MoD) has announced to invest INR 5,935.37 Bn for defense spending in FY 2024, up from INR 5,251.66 Bn in FY 2023, expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.33% during the FY2020 - FY2024 period. This includes expenditures for armed forces and civilian salaries, pensions, armed forces’ modernization, production establishments, maintenance, and its research and development organizations. To boost the attempts to achieve sustainability in modernization & infrastructure development of the defense services, there has been an increase in capital allocations by 6.7% from FY 2023. Salary and pension expenditure accounts for the largest share of the defense budget.

Key market trends:

As part of the"Make in India" push, indigenous production in the defense sector is anticipated to become more prominent in the subsequent years. The industry has also been concentrating on projects integrating disruptive technology like artificial intelligence and related applications, such as facial recognition, language translation, remotely operated weapon stations, robotic mine detectors, and intrusion detection systems.

Market drivers:

The market is being aggressively penetrated by players from several industries. Firms such as Reliance Industries and Adani Group seize possibilities stemming from the push for indigenization. Private parties are working with the Indian government to expand their operations and take use of the country's current supply chain patterns to move up the value chain more quickly. Increased production and procurement of defense equipment may increase the armed forces' reliance on imports.

Key deterrents to the growth of the market:

Foreign companies that invest directly in MSMEs face significant risks in India because the OEM ultimately controls quality and consistency. Also, it is not in the best interests of major US-based defense companies to invest in India because producing modern defense and aerospace technologies is an expensive, complicated process that requires significant investment. Thus, restraining the growth of the market in India.