Article: Small is the new big ; Armed with high technology and braving red-tape, over 150 small- and medium-sized Indian private players make inroads in the rarefied world of defence production and export.

Every day, millions of soldiers across the world, from Turkey to the United States, don Kevlar helmets. One in every 10 of these helmets is rolled off the production line of M Kumar Udyog (MKU), a small Kanpur-based company that cranks out a staggering 25,000 ballistic helmets enough to equip over two army divisions in a month.

The helmets cost $200 (Rs 8,000) each and are exported to the armies of over 40 countries, including the police and homeland security forces of the US.

Neeraj Gupta, who heads the company's foreign sales department, recalls the time, five years ago, when foreign firms cited lower costs in China to counter his price. Recently, however, Gupta bagged a $15-million (Rs 60 ...