Defence Expo 2020, scheduled to commence from February 5 here, will be attended by defence ministers from several countries. Leaders of around 40 countries, including Czech Republic, Mexico, United Arab Emirates and South Korea among others, have already confirmed their participation, Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar said. He said it would probably be for the first time that an India-Africa Defence Conclave would be held during the Defence Expo.
The number of companies that registered themselves for participating in the DefExpo 2020 has increased to 1,000 from 702 in the last edition held in Chennai. There is also a 96 per cent jump in the space booked by exhibitors in DefExpo 2020 to over 53,000 square metres, compared to around 27,000 square metres in the last edition.
Apart from this, live demonstrations of the services, DPSUs and industry showing the land, naval, air and internal security systems can be seen during the exhibition, which is to be held in Lucknow from February 5 to 9.
There will also be live demonstration at two locations — one at the exhibition site and the other at the Gomti Riverfront.
Arrangements have been made to hold 19 technical and business seminars, of which 15 will be organised by various industry chambers, including the Confederation of Indian Industries, the PHD Chambers of Commerce and the Associated Chambers of Commerce of India. The topics for these seminars will be largely futuristic and include discussions on artificial intelligence, robotics, Internet of Things (IoTs), drones, wired warrior, etc.
Further, arrangements have been made for accommodating around 5,000 students from various technical institutes of the state who will be visiting the DefExpo 2020.
Entry will be free for general public on February 8 and 9.
Recently, a mobile app made exclusively for the DefExpo 2020 was launched by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. It shares all the vital information about the event, from traffic advisory to live demo and other activities to look out for during the DefExpo 2020.