Aero India 2021 concludes

Bengaluru: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh stated that 128 MoUs, 19 ToTs, 4 Handing Overs, 18 Product Launches and 32 major announcements, totalling a grand figure of 201 feats were achieved at the Aero India 2021. Addressing the valedictory of the three-day show, he said, "Further, 45 MSMEs have bagged orders worth Rs 203 crore.

This is a major achievement. With an aim of encouraging the manufacture of defence related items in India, our endeavour will remain to bring down defence imports by at least $2 billion by 2022. Between 2016 and 2019, 138 proposals worth over $37 billion for domestic manufacturing have been approved," he said.

He said that that several initiatives have been taken to invite and facilitate the partnership of major companies from across the world and to become a part of India's defence industrial initiative.

"It is with this objective that FDI was raised to 74 % from 49% in August 2020. A robust domestic manufacturing base relates directly to the potential for defence exports. We plan to move from a $11 billion defence base to $25 billion by 2025.

Of this, we further intend to create an export component of $5 billion," Rajnath Singh elaborated.

He emphasised that the aerospace sector has an important role to play, if India has to reach the targets of domestic defence production of $25 billion and exports of $5 billion by 2025.

President Ram Nath Kovind expressed happiness that the show was conducted without compromising on its spirit while following the Covid norms.

"Aero India 2021 has been an unprecedented success. I am told that high-level delegations from 43 countries and exhibitors from 530 companies have participated in the event," Kovind said.

Addressing the gathering he said that during the Covid-19 outbreak, under Operation SAGAR 1 Indian government reached out to the neighbours and assisted them with medical teams, medicines as well as diagnostic kits, ventilators, masks, gloves and other medical supplies.

"In keeping with India's stated commitment to use its vaccine production and delivery capacity to help the entire humanity fight the Covid-19 pandemic, supplies to our friendly foreign countries have already begun.

Our vision is to create a robust economy and infrastructure alongside developing competitive supply chains and integrate them globally," the President added.

Kovind said that the reforms initiated in India in the last six years offer unprecedented opportunities to investors and private companies in the defence and aerospace sectors.

"We have taken a number of policy initiatives aimed at placing India among the top nations in the defence sector with twin objectives of self-reliance and export promotion.

I am happy to note that Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has got the orders for 83 Tejas aircrafts from Indian Air Force valued at more than Rs. 48,000 crore," he added.