Over 1,000 companies to gather in Lucknow for biggest ever Defence expo
29 Jan 2020
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The number of companies registered for participating in the 11th edition of the biennial mega defence exhibition, DefExpo 2020, to be held at Lucknow between 5-9 February 2020, has reached 1,000, up from 702 in DefExpo 2018 thanks to `Make in India’.
Foreign participation also increased from 160 to 165 companies, making DefExpo 2020 by far the biggest ever DefExpo to be held in India.
The booked exhibition space by exhibitors for DefExpo 2020 has gone up by 60 per cent to over 42,800 square metres, compared to around 26,774 during the last edition.
Defence ministers and Services chiefs of 35 countries have confirmed their participation in the DefExpo. A substantial number of memoranda of undertaking (MoUs) are expected to be inked during the Expo, resulting in forging of new business collaborations.
The theme of the Expo is ‘India: The Emerging Defence Manufacturing Hub’. The aim is to bring leading technologies in the defence sector under one roof and provide a myriad of opportunities for the government, private manufactures and startups. The event will cover the entire spectrum of the country's aerospace, defence and security interests.
The sub theme of the exhibition is ‘Digital Transformation of Defence’ which aligns with the concept of the future battlefield. Manufacturing for the aerospace and defence sector through application of newer technologies will also be focused upon. In addition to exhibiting products and technologies and live demonstrations by the Services, defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs) and industry will showcase land, naval, air and internal security systems.
The ‘India Pavilion’ will exclusively showcase the association of public and private sector, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs)/micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and innovation eco-system, which is the key to the way forward.
Apart from displaying industrial prowess and huge potential for the investors, the UP government will organise several cultural programmes showcasing rich cultural heritage of the state.
The central government has set up a defence industrial corridor in Uttar Pradesh with identification of six nodes. A defence planning committee has also been formed. The state government has planned to build a defence manufacturing corridor along the proposed Bundelkhand Expressway, which will help in making India self-reliant in the field of defence production.
DefExpo 2020 is expected to see participation from over 70 countries and will be in line with the biggest of the international defence exhibitions. The show will be marked with numerous attractions such as:
- Live demonstrations of the services by DPSUs and industry showing land, naval, air and internal security systems in action;
- Live demonstration to be held at two locations viz, at the exhibition site and at the Gomati river front;
Business seminars are being organised by both international and Indian industry chambers, including the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), SYNERGIA, Directorate of Standardisation (DOS)/Department of Defence Production (DDP), US-India Business Council (USIBC), US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), etc.
The seminar topics are futuristic and include discussions on artificial intelligence, robotics, Internet of Things (IoTs), drones, wired warrior, etc.
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