Comments
Gandhinagar
India has exported indigenously manufactured defence equipment worth ₹8,000 crore in the first six months of this fiscal, in an endorsement of the global buyers to India’s defence manufacturing capabilities, Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh said at the 12th edition of five-day Defence Expo 2022 (DefExpo 2022) in Gandhinagar on Monday.
At the curtain raiser event in Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, the Defence Minister stated that riding on the Atmanirbhar mission in the defence production along with the enabling policy support for innovation and entrepreneurship in defence production, India has unlocked newer opportunities in the sector.
Largest importer
“Till some years ago, India was considered as the world’s largest arms importer. Now, India has been listed in the world’s top 25 defence exporting countries. Prior to 2014, India’s defence exports were around ₹900-1,400 crore. So far, this year alone, we have done defence exports worth ₹8,000 crore in the first six months of the current fiscal. Our target is to touch exports of ₹35,000 crore by end of 2024-25,” said Singh.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said that the DefExpo in Gujarat will further encourage innovation and entrepreneurship in this sector.
Singh stated that the objective of the DefExpo 2022 is to exhibit capabilities of India’s domestic defence industry.
“The theme of this expo, Path to Pride is aptly in tune with the Prime Minister’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Atmanirbhar Defence. This is not just a theme but a vision of New India. Path to pride means to take pride in our indigenously made products. If we want the world to believe in our products, it is required we also believe in our products. DefExpo is a constant endeavor to realise that belief,” said Singh.
Being held at Gandhinagar, the DefExpo 2022 is different from the earlier editions of the expo, as it focuses on trade besides showcasing the technology and equipment in defence space. The DefExpo will see 451 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) being signed — double than the previous edition at Lucknow in 2020.
The MoUs signed for 2022 will attract a total investment of ₹1.5-lakh crore of which investments worth ₹5,500 crore will happen in Gujarat alone, said the officials.
Participation
The DefExpo 2022 will see participation of 1340 Indian defence companies with 10 States having their pavilions besides an India pavilion. This will also encourage States to promote their defence capabilities and attract investments.
There will be representatives from over 50 countries while over 33 Defence Ministers have already arrived till Monday, the officials informed. Singh will hold various bilateral talks with some of these Defence Ministers pitching for trade with India on defence products. Also, he will participate in India-Africa Defence Dialogue and Indian Ocean Region (IOR) Conclave.
The five-day event will be held across four locations providing a closer experience for the public to know about the defence products and capabilities.
Besides the trade talks, bilateral meetings and Exhibition are being held in Gandhinagar, there will be drone shows and demo exhibition at Sabarmati Riverfront at Ahmedabad and ship visit at Porbandar on the coast of Gujarat.
Comments
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.