Defexpo looks to attract more local players
The stage is set for India's showpiece defence exhibition, Defexpo, to take place from April 11 to 14 at Thiruvidanthai near Chennai. The aim is to attract global vendors of military equipment in large numbers. The Ministry of Defence has been emphasising attracting more Indian players into defence manufacturing.
"We want to showcase India as an emerging hub for manufacturing as the country attained significant milestones in defence manufacturing. We need to create opportunity for exports from India," said Ajay Kumar, secretary, defence production, Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Defexpo, organised once every two years in February, used to be held in New Delhi till 2014, when it was moved by then defence minister Manohar Parrikar to Goa. Now, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has taken it to Tamil Nadu.
In total, 702, including 539 Indian firms and 163 international firms, are expected to participate. While this is the highest ever participation by Indian firms, there is a 10 per cent drop in international participation, according to officials.
Kumar said major international firms are participating in the exhibition. Around 72 per cent of the space is allocated for Indian exhibitors. The area prepared for the exhibition is 290,000 sq.ft. Around 20 per cent is reserved for micro, small and medium enterprises.
In the previous expo, there were more than 1,000 companies, said an official release.
This year, Indian participation include majors such as Tata Group, L&T, Kalyani, Bharat Forge, Mahindra, MKU,
Defence Research and Development Organisation, Hindustan Aeronautics, Bharat Electronics, Bharat Dynamics, Bharat Earth Movers, Mazagon Dock , warship building firm Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers, Goa Shipyard, Hindustan Shipyard, Mishra Dhatu Nigam, and Ordnance Factories.
Aiming to give an impetus to start-ups, the MoD will launch the Innovations for Defence Excellence (IDEX) scheme at the expo. It was unveiled earlier in the draft defence production policy.
Officials have said at the Indian Pavilion over 70 indigenously-built products will be displayed. It will be an idle space for defence and aerospace manufacturers to exhibit their latest technologies and products under the 'Make in India' programme.
Major international companies including Lockheed Martin, Boeing (USA), Saab (Sweden), Airbus (France), Rafael (France), Rosonboron Exports (Russia), United Shipbuilding (Russia), BAE Systems (UK), Sibat (Israel), Wartsila (Finland), Rhode (Germany) and Schwarz (Germany) will be participating in the event. Reports stated that Maldives declined to send a ministerial-level delegation to the expo, while China is yet to respond.
The Expo will showcase India's capabilities in land, naval and internal homeland security. It will present India's emergence as an attractive destination for investment in the defence sector by providing a platform for alliances and joint ventures in the defence industry. Around 47 official delegations from different countries have confirmed their participation.
India is ranked the world's top arms importer and the MoD said Indian firms manufactured ~550 billion of military equipment last year. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will inaugurate the expo on April 11. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will do the inauguration the day after. There will be ‘live demonstrations’ by Indian Navy warships at sea. An India-South Korea joint commission will be meeting in New Delhi.