Govt eases defence export rules, simplifies SOP and OGEL framework to boost global reach
The Department of Defence Production, under the Ministry of Defence, revised the Defence Export Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and the Open General Export Licence (OGEL) framework to simplify defence export procedures
Three previously separate OGEL SOPs — covering major platforms and equipment, parts and components, and intra-company transfer of technology — were consolidated into a single unified framework
OGEL validity was extended from two years to three years, and its geographic coverage was expanded from a fixed list of 41 countries to all countries except those classified as negative/sensitive destinations or subject to UN Security Council sanctions or arms embargoes
Stakeholder consultation requirements were removed for exports of non-lethal defence items to most destinations, and for all items meant for international tenders and exhibitions
Under OGEL, eligible exporters can self-generate authorisation for multiple consignments of specified defence items without seeking separate approval for each shipment; a new provision also allows OGELs tied to long-term contracts with foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), with validity aligned to the underlying contract
The changes come against the backdrop of record defence export performance: exports touched ₹38,424 crore in FY 2025-26 (up sharply year-on-year), and domestic defence production hit ₹1.78 lakh crore in the same year
SCOMET and India's Dual-Use/Munitions Export Control Regime
Defence and dual-use item exports from India are governed under the SCOMET list — Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment and Technologies — India's national export control list, administered under the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992 and the Foreign Trade Policy.
Key Details
- SCOMET is divided into categories: Category 0 covers nuclear-related items (regulated by the Department of Atomic Energy); Categories 1-5 and 8 cover chemicals, materials, aerospace/electronics, and technology transfer; Category 6 covers munitions/military items, which is the category most relevant to defence platform exports
- India aligns its SCOMET list with the control lists of multilateral export-control regimes it belongs to — the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR, joined 2016), the Wassenaar Arrangement (joined 2017), and the Australia Group (joined 2018) — and has harmonised its guidelines with the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) despite not being a member
- The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, is the statutory licensing authority for SCOMET exports, while the Department of Defence Production (Ministry of Defence) acts as the sponsoring/certifying authority for military items and administers export promotion policy
- An Open General Export Licence (OGEL) is a general, pre-authorised licence (as opposed to an individual/specific export licence issued case-by-case) that lets eligible, vetted exporters ship specified categories of items to approved destinations without repeat case-by-case approval — reducing procedural time for lower-risk, repeat transactions
The eased SOP and expanded OGEL framework operate within this SCOMET/export-control architecture — the reform does not remove control over sensitive items but widens the pool of lower-risk transactions eligible for the faster, general-licence route.
Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy (DPEPP) 2020 and Atmanirbhar Bharat in Defence
The current export-easing measures are the latest step in a policy sequence begun with the Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy (DPEPP) 2020, which set explicit production and export targets to position India as a top global defence manufacturer and exporter.
Key Details
- DPEPP 2020 targeted a turnover of ₹1.75 lakh crore (about $25 billion) in aerospace and defence goods and services, including exports of ₹35,000 crore (about $5 billion), by 2025
- The government has since set a more ambitious target of ₹50,000 crore in annual defence exports and ₹3 lakh crore in annual defence production by 2028-29
- Other Atmanirbhar Bharat defence measures feeding into this trend include successive "Positive Indigenisation Lists" (items banned from import beyond a timeline), corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board into seven Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) in 2021, and the iDEX (Innovation for Defence Excellence) scheme for startups
- Defence exports have grown roughly eightfold over the past decade, with private industry (including MSMEs) now contributing a substantial and rising share alongside DPSUs; the United States remains India's largest single defence export destination
Procedural easing of the SOP/OGEL framework is a direct enabler of the DPEPP-era export targets — regulatory friction (case-by-case approvals, limited country coverage) has been identified as a bottleneck, particularly for MSME exporters who lack the compliance capacity of large defence PSUs.
Defence Acquisition vs Defence Export — Two Distinct Regulatory Tracks
It is important to distinguish the export-licensing reforms discussed here from India's defence procurement (acquisition) framework, which governs how India buys defence equipment rather than how Indian firms sell it abroad.
Key Details
- The Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020, issued by the Ministry of Defence, governs domestic capital procurement categories — Buy (Indian-IDDM), Buy (Indian), Buy & Make, and Buy (Global) — and is entirely separate from the export-control/licensing regime covered by SOP/OGEL/SCOMET
- Capital acquisition proposals go through the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by the Defence Minister, before Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approval for high-value cases — this is the "buying" side of defence policy
- Export licensing, by contrast, is a Department of Defence Production/DGFT function concerned with controlling what Indian-made defence items can be sold to which countries — the "selling" side, which is what this SOP/OGEL reform addresses
Students should not conflate DAP 2020 (acquisition) with the SOP/OGEL reform (export licensing) — UPSC frequently tests this distinction between India's defence procurement architecture and its export-control architecture as separate policy tracks under the same Atmanirbhar Bharat umbrella.
- OGEL validity extended: from 2 years to 3 years
- OGEL geographic coverage expanded: from a fixed list of 41 countries to all countries except negative/sensitive destinations and those under UN Security Council sanctions/arms embargoes
- Three OGEL SOPs (major platforms/equipment; parts/components; intra-company technology transfer) merged into a single unified SOP
- Defence exports, FY 2025-26: ₹38,424 crore (record level); domestic defence production, FY 2025-26: ₹1.78 lakh crore (record level)
- DPEPP 2020 target (for 2025): ₹1.75 lakh crore aerospace/defence turnover, including ₹35,000 crore in exports
- Revised target: ₹50,000 crore in annual defence exports and ₹3 lakh crore in annual defence production by 2028-29
- SCOMET Category 6 covers munitions/military items; DGFT (Ministry of Commerce and Industry) is the licensing authority, Department of Defence Production (Ministry of Defence) the sponsoring authority
- India is a member of the MTCR (2016), Wassenaar Arrangement (2017), and Australia Group (2018) multilateral export-control regimes