BENGALURU: The boost for Make in India - Atma Nirbhar Bharat (ANB) - has caught the world’s attention.This edition of Aero India for the first time will have many firsts to showcase India’s prowess in defence capability and manufacturing and to live up to its theme of ‘The runway to a billion opportunities.’
For the first time since its inception since 1996, the biennial air show will see the participation of Defence Ministers from 25 countries, said A Bharat Bhushan Babu, Additional Director General (ADG), Media & Communications, Ministry of Defence (MoD). In an exclusive chat with TNIE, he said the MoD had sent out invitations to 160 countries for their Defence Ministers, Air Chiefs and equivalent level VIPS and, “we have received confirmation from 80 countries. Out of these, Defence Ministers from 25 countries and deputy defence ministers from other 25 countries have confirmed their participation. The numbers will, however, be dynamic,” said the MoD spokesperson.
He added that this was a sequel to the earlier conclaves - the India-Africa Defence Ministers Conclave in Lucknow during the DefExpo on February 06, 2020, and the India-Africa Defence Dialogue (IADD) on October 18, 2022, on the sidelines of the 12th DefExpo in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
Besides the international defence dignitaries, this year’s Aero India will see the CEO round table, in which 100 CEOs of top aerospace and defence companies, including Lockheed Martin, Rafale, Airbus, Boeing and Safran among others will participate. “The response to Aero India has been overwhelming. It shows that that the world wants to be part of India’s growth story,” said Babu.
“Our expectation from the global participation in Aero India is to forge partnerships and urge them to invest here. We have the ecosystem, manpower and infrastructure to expand defence exports. We are developing defence technologies that are on the cutting edge,” he added.
There will be a lot of emphasis on drone technology in the air show. “Drones are coming up in a big way and will play a major role in future conflicts. There will be special focus on drones in the air show,” said an informed source.
‘Manthan’ - the segment on defence innovation will also be a highlight of the five-day show. “The MoD collects problems from the three services and puts them across to the start ups to come out with viable solutions. We will hand hold these start ups and back them with financial support,” said the spokesperson..
Speaking about ANB, Babu said, “Make in India has really taken off.
Out of last year’s budget, which for the first time had earmarked Rs 86,000 crore for capital procurement from the domestic industry, Rs 68,000 crore has already been spent. The domestic industry has exported Rs 13,000 crore worth defence equipment to 70 countries. We have identified equipment, which cannot be imported beyond a certain time limit to boost domestic manufacturing.
The 41 Defence Ordnance Factories have been regrouped into seven Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) and have been vested with autonomy and decision making powers. We can see the change. Munitions India Limited is exporting and DRDO is transferring technology free of royalty to the private industry. We have thrown open our testing facilities to the private industry,” added the MoD spokesperson.