Team Herald
PANJIM: The State will host the much-awaited and highly-debated Defence Expo India amidst controversy from several quarters over the allotment of spacious land at Quitol-Betul to the Defence Ministry for the international event.
The four-day biennial exhibition on Land, Naval and Internal Homeland Security Systems, starting on Monday is organised by Defence Exhibition Organisation of Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence. The exhibition will be inaugurated by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.
In its ninth edition, the event will witness participation from over 1000 companies, both foreign and Indian for the exhibition, making it over one and a half times in number of participants recorded in DefExpo 2014.
Remarkably, with a total of 510 companies, participation by Indian companies has doubled since 2014 that had 256 companies. A total number of 490 foreign companies are participating this year against 368 in DefExpo 2014.
Moreover, 47 countries from different continents will be taking part in the exhibition against 30 countries which participated in the last edition of DefExpo.
At a brief press meet last month, Parrikar had clarified that Pakistan and China are excluded from the participating in the show with only a Chinese delegation allowed. The two countries were not even invited for the event. Bangladesh is not in the list as it does not have any manufacturing plant in this sector.
“India is among a handful of countries in the world with indigenous capabilities in the defence fields such as multi-level strategic deterrence, ballistic missile defence, nuclear powered submarines, main battle tank, stealth destroyers, aircraft carriers and 4th generation fighter aircraft. With the changes in government policies on defense acquisition and Make in India campaign, considerable impetus is being given to indigenisation in the defense sector,” a press statement reads.
The exhibition would showcase India’s capabilities in Land, Naval and Security Systems as well as its emergence as an attractive destination for investment in Defense Sector. The event provides a platform for forging alliances and joint ventures in the defense industry. The event also provides an excellent opportunity to the Indian Defense Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), Private Sector and other defense related industries to demonstrate their capability to design, develop and deliver a wide range of military and civil products/services.
Around 950 delegations against 511 in 2014 are expected to visit the exhibition this year providing great synergy in business to business (B2B) activities during the short span of four days.
“The exhibition will thus provide an excellent platform to enhance growth in the sector in the coming years. Two hundred and four official delegations from the 44 countries and around 750 non official business delegations are attending the show,” the official statement further reads.
The net area sold during this edition is 40,725 square metres against 27,515 square metres in 2014. The gross area of exhibition has increased over three fold to 150,000 square metres against 45,000 square metres in 2014.
Meanwhile, anti-DefExpo agitators held a bike rally from Naqueri to Margao opposing the event. Allaying apprehensions that the land would be made a permanent venue, Parrikar had commented that the ministry would refuse acquiring any land in the State even if it was given free of cost.
On the sidelines of the exhibition, seminars will provide a platform to showcase developments and opportunities in the defense sector on March 29 on the topics ‘advances in shipbuilding technology,’ ‘Make in India for defense sector,’ ‘India – Korea Defence Cooperation,’ ‘Modernisation Program of Indian Army’ and ‘Challenges and opportunities of Defense Offset.’
The strong tourism and hotel industry of Goa allows the exhibition to expand to the scale as it has done this year. In turn, the exhibition will also provide an enhanced income to the local economy in terms of hotel bookings, taxi services and visits to tourist spots. Care is being taken to preserve the ecology of the site.
With the event open to public on the concluding day through prior registration on other days, over 2,000 school and higher secondary students from across 44 educational institutions will get an opportunity to be a part of the prestigious event.
