As the Government is striving to boost the nascent defence industry, ‘Make in India’ policy will figure prominently during the five-day international aerospace exhibition Aero India 2017 starting February 14 in Bengaluru. Nearly 500 companies, including 279 foreign and 270 Indian ones, will take part in the biennial event that is held since 1996.
With the focus on medium and small scale industries, the exhibition will have seminars on the problems faced by Indian entrepreneurs. Several countries will also participate in discussions organised by three prominent industrial bodies including Confederation of Indian Industries(CII), Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce(FICCI) and Punjab, Haryana and Delhi(PHD) chamber of industry.
Moreover, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Kerala are setting up exclusive SEZ pavilions for attracting investment. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar will inaugurate the exhibition on February 14 in which more than 51 countries including US, UK, France, Israel, Russia, Sweden and South Africa are some of the 51 countries taking part in the expo. Many companies will also display their frontline planes and 72 aircraft from different countries will be on display. Moreover, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Kerala are setting up exclusive SEZ pavilions for attracting investment, defence ministry officials said here on Friday.
Defence Ministers and top officials of many countries including UK will represent their respective industries. British Defence Minister Harriett Baldwin will lead her delegation at Aero India as Britain and India focus on partnership, collaboration, investment and technology transfer, UK government officials said here.
In all, 65 delegates comprising Ministers of Defence, Service Chiefs including IAF and Indian Army chiefs, heads of department from Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, Brunei, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Oman, Seychelles, Sri lanka, Sudan, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, the UAE, the UK, USA and Uzbekistan have confirmed their presence.