Processing .....please wait.. 
The article has been forwarded.... 
India seeks to become major armaments exporter
Wednesday, 04 February 2004, 20:30 IST
NEW DELHI: India has shed its "Gandhian coyness" and is eyeing the lucrative international defence market to export its increasingly sophisticated military products, Defence Minister George Fernandes said Wednesday.
"Till not long ago India was not seeking to show its defence production capabilities," Fernandes said and attributed the "coyness" to "Gandhian overtones."
But India today was casting its eyes beyond the domestic market and its earnings from defence exports had been steadily going up -- from $17.4 million in 1999 to $47 million last year -- and was set to go up further this year, he said.
Fernandes was inaugurating Defexpo India 2004, one of Asia's largest defence expositions and the third in a series of biennial specialised land and naval systems exhibitions.
India is showcasing the event, organised jointly by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the defence ministry, as a major forum for marketing its indigenously developed military hardware, ranging from radars to hi-tech systems like the BrahMos cruise missile developed with Russia.
Fernandes noted that the US won the two Gulf Wars not because of its manpower but its technological superiority, particularly information technology and electronics, two fields in which India was in the forefront.
The exposition, being held at the Pragati Maidan fairground till Saturday, is spread over 18,000 sq metres with participation from over 375 companies from 20 countries.
The organisers said that this time there was a 100 percent growth in Indian private sector participation, 34 percent increase in overseas participation and 43 percent increase in exhibition area and confirmed participation of a large number of business delegations from across the world.
Coinciding with the exposition, there will be Defenterprise, a focussed business fair for small-scale industries in the defence sector. Seminars and press conferences will also be organised during the show.
The second India Defence Industry Summit will be organised Friday.
After decades of being dependent on imported defence technology and know-how, India has emerged in recent years as a major manufacturer of low-cost but effective military hardware as its indigenous research and development programmes in areas as diverse as missiles and electronic warfare have come of age.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation has developed a wide array of equipment, ranging from the nuclear-capable Agni-II ballistic missile to the Tejas light combat aircraft.
Source: IANS
Source: IANS