Report by Shreya Agarwal
As you might have read in our previous article about the inauguration of the event, the DefExpo has been hosted at the capital of Gujarat, Gandhinagar for its 12th edition.
DefExpo was conventionally held at New Delhi till 2014. But after that, the government changed this norm and the event was held at Goa (2016), Chennai (2018), and Lucknow (2020).
The theme for this year is “Path to Pride”.
A statement from the Ministry of Defence stated that the participants will be able to showcase their equipment, explore the strengths of the Indian defence industry, and make business partnerships. The event will also boost investment, expand manufacturing capability, and help to find out fields for technology absorption.
Different locations were set up for different programmes which will occur throughout the event:
1. Inaugural ceremony and seminars at the Mahatma Mandir Convention and Exhibition Centre (MMCEC). Seminars were taken by FICCI, SIDM, DRDO, DGDE, Indian Chamber of Commerce, etc.
2. Exhibition at the Helipad Exhibition Centre (HEC)
3. Live demonstrations at the Sabarmati River Front by the Indian Defence Industry including Indian Armed Forces and DPSU
4. Ship visits for the public by Indian Coast Guard at Porbandar
5. The biggest ever drone show by IIT-Delhi startup Botlabs at Porbandar
Important occasions during the Expo include the organising of the second edition of the India-Africa Defence Dialogue (IADD), an Indian Ocean Region plus (IOR+) conclave (For more info, read the article about the same published on 19th October!).
PM Modi had also laid the foundation stone of the Deesa airfield in Gujarat.
States had their own pavilions which gave way to more participation.
The iDEX Pavilion showed how the start-ups of India are carrying out RnD (research and development) and innovation in future technologies.
451 MoUs were signed at this Expo leading to an investment worth 1.5 lakh crore in the defence sector.
It was spread over more than 1 lakh square metres with 1028 exhibitors.
The event also had 70 countries, more than 3000 delegates participating and approximately 12 lakh visitors.
All of this led to the expo having the largest-ever participation in history.
18th-20th were reserved business days and on 21st and 22nd, it was open to the public.
Its aim was to encourage people to get into the aerospace and defence manufacturing sector for achieving self-reliance or ‘Atmanirbharta’ in the field of defence.
A guide to the above-mentioned abbreviations:
OEMs: Original Equipment Manufacturer
FICCI: Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry
HAL: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
SIDM: Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers
DPSU: Defence Public Sector Undertakings
iDEX: Innovations for Defence Excellence
MoU: Memorandum of Understanding