Aero India 2019 draws over 200 foreign firms

Aero India 2019, recognised as Asia’s largest Air show, attracted more than 600 Indian companies as well as 200 foreign firms. The 12th edition of the event held over February 20-24 saw participation of a total of 61 aircraft. The first three days at the show, earmarked exclusively for business visitors, saw a foot fall of around 200,000. There was a specific theme for each day of the show – Start-ups, technology and women. The event, which focussed on Make in India, also featured a ‘Drone Olympics’ with 58 entries. It comes at a time when the Indian Air Force is looking to acquire more than 110 combat aircraft.

During the event, Defence Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman presided over a CEO conclave attended by 13 CEOs from overseas companies and 11 from Indian firms that discussed opportunities in the Indian aviation sector. As many as 500 business-to-business meetings were held and around 50 preliminary agreements were signed during the course of the event. Additionally, several seminars were conducted by Government agencies such as the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, apart from various State Governments and Industrial Associations.

India has come up as a leading global destination for defence procurement as well as manufacturing for export market. India’s Interim Budget for FY 2019-20 has allocated a record-high sum of over US$44.7 billion to defence and security. India is also pushing for higher level of indigenization in defence. India spends around 30 per cent of its defence budget on capital acquisitions. Drawn by the promises, foreign defence and aerospace firms such as Sweden’s Saab, US-based Boeing Defense, Space & Security and Lockheed Martin, UK’s Rolls-Royce, among others have set up R&D and manufacturing bases in India.