Government eases defence export SOP to help local manufacturers tap global market

The Indian government has introduced reforms to streamline the defence export standard operating procedure (SOP) and open general export licence (OGEL) framework, aiming to ease access for local manufacturers to the global market. These changes include dispensing with stakeholder consultation for exports of non-lethal defence items to most destinations, and for all items in international tenders and exhibitions, thereby enabling Indian companies to more swiftly seize global business opportunities.

The reforms also include consolidating three existing export licence SOPs into a single unified framework, increasing OGEL validity from two to three years, and expanding the range of items covered under OGEL. This move is expected to benefit Indian defence manufacturers, including MSMEs, by allowing them to respond more quickly to international opportunities, access wider global markets, and reduce repetitive authorisation requirements.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Indian Express's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.