India wants to double defence exports over the next five years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday, as the country seeks to cut its import bill amid a funding crunch that has forced successive governments to go slow on new orders.

"For several years India has been a net importer of defence products. We have taken measures to change it since 2014," Modi said in the northern city of Lucknow, addressing the inaugural ceremony of India's 11th defence expo. "Our aim is to increase exports of defence products to five billion dollars in five years," Modi said, adding India exports about 170 billion rupees ($2.4 billion) of defence products. India's defence export ambitions are soaring as Asia's third largest economy suffers its worst slowdown in decades with the country's economic growth dropping to 4.5% in July-September quarter - its lowest quarterly growth in six years. Between 2013 and 2017, India was the world's top arms importer, accounting for 12% of total imports globally, with Russia, Israel and the United States among the top suppliers.