New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate Defence Expo 2018—one of the largest events of its kind in the world in the last 10 years — in Chennai on April 12. The event is expected to be a feather in the cap for Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as she succeeded in bringing it to her home state despite stiff competition from Andhra Pradesh and Goa.
With the tagline ‘India: The Emerging Defence Manufacturing Hub’, this year’s expo will be held from April 11 to 14 at Tiruvidanthal on East Coast Road and will seek to brand India, for the first time, as an exporter of defence systems and components, besides showcasing the country’s defence manufacturing capabilities to the world.
While showcasing strengths of India’s substantial public sector, it will also uncover the country’s growing private industry and spreading MSME base for components and sub-systems.
However, this year has seen more than one-third cut in participation by foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and component makers as compared with last year. While 232 foreign companies took part in the expo last year, this year only 154 such companies will participate.
The formal inauguration on April 12 will be followed by live demonstration of naval systems, aero systems and land systems. Live demonstration will be done for systems which are designed / built in India.
The India-Russia Military Industry Conference will be held on the sidelines of DefExpo 2018 at the venue. Over 100 Russian and over 200 Indian industry leaders are expected to participate.
Indian Navy ships will be available for onboard viewing for the public at Chennai harbour. There will be live demonstration of large platforms and also flying display by HAL and IAF at the DefExpo venue on April 14, when it would be open to the public.
