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Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt has said that India has received around Rs 494 crore of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the defence sector since revising the policy relating to it in September 2020. In the last few years, the government has taken a series of measures to boost domestic defence manufacturing.

In 2020, the government announced increasing the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit from 49 per cent to 74 per cent under the automatic route and up to 100 per cent through the government route in the defence sector. Besides, Bhatt said in order to promote 'Make in India' in the defence sector, the government has issued 584 defence licenses to 358 private companies for setting up of manufacturing units, including 107 licenses for weapon manufacturing.

India is one of the largest importers of arms globally. According to estimates, the Indian armed forces are projected to spend around $130 billion in capital procurement in the next five years. The government now wants to reduce dependence on imported military platforms and has decided to support domestic defence manufacturing.