The delayed 12th edition of India’s premier Defence exhibition ‘DefExpo 2022’ will be held at Gandhinagar in Gujarat from October 18 to 22, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) informed on Monday. The marquee event will focus on projecting the country as an emerging defence manufacturing hub in line with the government’s vision of achieving self-reliance in defence, the MoD said in its statement.
“The Indian Defence industry has been keenly anticipating DefExpo-2022 which is Asia’s largest event in the defence sector. It was postponed in March 2022 due to logistical problems being faced by the participants,” the statement said.
The exhibition was earlier planned to be held from March 10-14 but was deferred by the government on account of the Russia-Ukraine war, although the official line was that it was postponed on account of “logistics problems” faced by the participants. The event was deferred barely a week before it was to begin.
The DefExpo, India’s flagship exhibition on Land, Naval and Homeland Security systems, is a platform for the congregation of the global arms companies (OEMs). “The participants will get an opportunity to showcase their equipment and platforms and also be able to explore the strengths and capabilities of the expanse of the Indian Defence industry for forging business partnerships. The event will help boost investment, expand manufacturing capacities and capabilities, and discover avenues for technology absorption,” the statement said.
The 12th edition of DefExpo will witness three business days followed by two public days. Live demonstrations showcasing the equipment and skill set of the Armed Forces, DPSUs and Industry will be held on all five days at Sabarmati River Front through active participation and synchronized efforts at all levels, according to MoD.
DefExpo 2022 will be held in a three-venue format across an area of 01+ lakh square metres at Helipad Exhibition Centre, inaugural event and seminars at Mahatma Mandir Convention and Exhibition Centre and a Live demo at Sabarmati River Front. The exhibition is being planned with events such as Bandhan for forging partnerships between companies; seminars and webinars showcasing start-ups/MSMEs, including cutting-edge technology solutions for future battlefield; Artificial Intelligence in defence; student visits and showcasing Gujarat as an investment destination for aerospace and defence sector, etc, the statement added.
The DefExpo-2022 website (www.defexpo.gov.in) is available to provide online services to exhibitors, besides hosting informative content about the various indigenous defence products and promoting heritage and leisure in Gujarat. The exhibitor booking would be available for Indian companies which will include Indian subsidiaries of Foreign OEMs, Joint Ventures between Indian and Foreign companies, Defence Public Sector Undertakings, State Pavilions, DRDO and Indian companies. The website will be an enabler for exhibitors to register and book space online on a first come-first-serve basis, make online payments, and book conference halls and venues for Business-to-Business (B2B) meetings, the statement stated.
The website will be the first interface making the process of booking and information access effortless. A sizeable number of participants who have retained their presence in the post postponement event, opting for the Costs of Compensation offered by the Ministry will be reallocated their space. Bookings of space for new exhibitors will commence from 15 August 2022. Trade visitors will be able to buy their tickets on the website for visiting the show during business days i.e., 18, 19 and 20 October and Free Entry for the general public on 21 and 22 October. Defence publications and media would also require to register online through the website. A discount of 25% will be offered on the earlier space and ticket rates for DefExpo-2022 to encourage the wider presence of Indian companies. Special focus will be to promote the Indian start-ups and MSMEs as also setting up of State Pavilions to further their A&D policies, the statement further added.
Team BharatShakti
