New Delhi, March 30 : The demand for Brahmos supersonic cruise missile has suddenly grown all over the world, Minister of State for MSME Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma said on Wednesday. Addressing second International Conference on Defence and Security organised by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the minister said that the government has taken concrete steps to promote indigenization in the defence sector. “Just before the start of the pandemic, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had organized Defence Expo in Lucknow in which a large number of MSMEs participated. As a result, the manufacturing of one of the most advanced defence technologies in the world, Brahmos is taking place in Lucknow. The demand for the BrahMos missile at the international level has suddenly grown,” he said. India in January marked a rare milestone by securing a 375 million dollar order from the Philippines to supply three coastal defence batteries of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile along with training and support. It is now India’s first major military export in years with countries like Indonesia and Vietnam also expressing interest in the weapon. The minister said that special emphasis has been laid by the government to promote MSMEs in the defence acquisition process. Talking about growing involvement of Indian industry in defence manufacturing, Sanjay Jaju, Additional Secretary (Defence Production) in the Defence Ministry said that India’s defence design, development and manufacturing ecosystem is actually going through a complete disruptive overhaul. “It’s one of the most exciting phases arguably for defence and aerospace sector in our country. If I list out the kind of things that are happening, it’s almost endless. The aspect that I believe is driving out entire journey is ‘self belief’. Belief in our capability, belief in our ability to be world class,” he said. We always have a deep suspicion that our country won’t be able to manufacture but the whole transformation has been happening now, Jaju added. ASU SHK1817