MUMBAI: State-run Bharat Electronics (BEL) expects to breach Rs 10,000 crore-revenue mark in FY18 and is upbeat about the order pipeline despite imminent competition in the defence sector, the head of the company said.

The company expects to report revenue of Rs 10,300 crore in the year ending March as against Rs 9,140 crore reported a year ago, BEL's chairman MV Gowtama said.

"We expect Rs 10,000 crore of average orders coming to us in the next 4-5 years," Gowtama said.

Talking at 'Edelweiss India Conference 2018', Gowtama said that the company's order book is currently worth Rs 40,000 crore to be delivered over the next 5-8 years.

India has increased its defence budget for 2018-19 by 7.8 per cent to Rs 2.95 lakh crore in the Union Budget as announced by the finance minister last week. Given the threats faced by the country from Pakistan and China, the government has been criticised for not allocating enough funds for defence programmes.

Gowtama dismissed these concerns by saying that the budget allocation may be sufficient given a likely decrease in prices.

"The government has given a clear signal that future of defence procurement is competitive route which will lead to price control. 'Make in India' will further bring down prices by a minimum of 20 per cent. Hence, the budget allocation would be enough to meet requirements," he said.

Indigenous technology accounts for 87 per cent of BEL's revenue currently. As a strategy, the company is focusing more on core business and research and development, while it is outsourcing non-core businesses to Indian companies, including small and medium enterprises, Gowtama said.