The Ministry of Defence is organising a CEOs Round Table on February 13, the inaugural day of the 14th edition of Aero India 2023 in Bengaluru, which would be chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The biennial airshow would be held at the Air Force Station at Yelahanka here from February 13-17. The platform with the theme ‘Sky is not the limit: Opportunities beyond boundaries’ is expected to lay the foundation of a more robust interaction between the industry partners and government with an eye on bolstering the ‘Make in India’ campaign, according to an official release.
It is further expected to increase the ease of doing business in India and also provide OEMs with a favourable platform for manufacturing in India, the release said. The Round Table would see the participation of officials, delegates and global CEOs from 26 countries including global investors such as Boeing, Lockheed, Israel Aerospace Industries, General Atomics, Liebherr Group, Raytheon Technologies, Safran, and General Authority of Military Industries (GAMI) among others.
Domestic PSUs such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), BEML Limited and Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited would also participate in the Round Table. Private defence and aerospace manufacturing companies from India such as Larsen & Toubro, Bharat Forge, Dynamatic Technologies, and BrahMos Aerospace are also likely to be part of the event, the release said.
This would engage industries for co-development and co-production to make India a commercial manufacturing hub and base for global product support, it said. It added that the event would explore Indian and global markets, and create opportunities for industries to not just ‘Make in India', but ‘Make in India' for the world.
India has the 3rd largest military in the world and the government plans to spend USD 130 billion for fleet modernisation over the next five to seven years, officials said, adding that a series of policy initiatives have been taken by the government to boost "self-reliance" in the Indian defence manufacturing ecosystem. According to officials, Aero India has carved a niche for itself globally as one of the premier aerospace exhibitions with 13 successful editions organised in Bengaluru since 1996.
The aerospace and defence exhibition is to be held in an area of around 35,000 sqm, for which a total of 731 exhibitors have registered -- 633 Indian and 98 foreign for Aero India this time. The five-day event to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi would include aerial displays by aircraft along with a large exhibition and trade fair of aerospace companies. This year, the exhibition is expected to be the biggest airshow with the highest rate of participation and would feature top international think tanks, major aerospace companies and world leaders.