Col Nilesh Kunwar (Retd)
Scheduled from February 10 at Indian Air Force Station Yelahanka at Bengaluru, Karnataka, the four-day-long Aero India 2025 promises to be an elaborate affair. Aptly tag-lined “The Runway to a Billion Opportunities,” this event will provide a platform for forging partnerships between foreign and Indian firms as well as discovering newer avenues in the global value chain that would fast track the indigenisation process. Besides a static exhibition of a large array of military aircraft from several countries, visitors would also be able to witness an impressive air show.
From humble beginnings in 1996, Aero India has today become an extremely popular global defence event which attracts several foreign attendees connected with the aviation sector, which can be gauged from the fact that the last year’s event attracted over seven lac visitors and dignitaries from 98 countries. In addition, while 809 exhibitors including established business houses, startups and MSMEs showcased their products, more than 53 announcements were made. Aero India 2025 is expected to surpass even these impressive benchmarks.
Aero India 2025 will commence with a curtain raiser followed by an inaugural function, a defence ministers’ conclave and a CEO’s round table conference. A start-up event aptly named ‘Manthan’ would be of special interest as would be the Indian and foreign aerospace company pavilions. In order to facilitate dialogue and strategic partnership with friendly countries, India would be hosting a Defence Ministers’ Conclave on Feb 11 with the theme ‘BRIDGE’ [Building Resilience through International Defence and Global Engagement]- an appropriate acronym that highlights the vital importance of cooperation and collaboration in bridging the path to mutual prosperity.
CEOs from across the world as well as CMDs of domestic PSUs as well as major Indian private defence and aerospace manufacturing companies would be participating in the CEO’s Round Table discussions. This forum would provide foreign original equipment manufacturers [OEMs] a host of opportunities to undertake manufacturing in India. Promoting start-ups will be a focus area for Aero India 2025 and towards this a wide range of cutting edge technologies and products developed by Indian start-ups will be showcased exclusively at the iDEX pavilion.
To further strengthen defence and aerospace ties with friendly countries, a number of high level bilateral meetings are also planned on the sidelines of Aero India 2025 in which the Defence Minister, Minister of State for Defence, Chief of Defence Staff and Secretary (Defence Production) amongst others would participate. These meetings indicate New Delhi’s resolve to leave no stone unturned in catalysing cooperation within friendly nations and this will surely go a long way in further bolstering defence and aerospace ties by exploring newer avenues that will take the existing partnership to the next level.
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As the Indian Pavilion would be showcasing the country’s firm commitment to its ‘Make in India’ initiative by exhibiting indigenous defence manufacturing and cutting-edge technologies, it is bound to attract large international and domestic crowds. Seeing the wide array of world-class defence and aerospace equipment being locally produced would definitely make every Indian really very proud. Aerospace/defence related seminars and live technology demonstrations would interest those keen to know about the latest developments in these dynamic fields.
Besides being one of Asia’s biggest aero shows, Aero India 2025 is yet another remarkable exposition of India’s achievements in the aero/defence sectors that reflects the country’s determined efforts to reach for the sky!
Author was commissioned in 11 Gorkha Rifles in June 1977, and commanded 3/11. during Op Vijay. A graduate of MSC, he has wide experience of anti-terrorist operations in North East and in J.K. A Pakistan and Kashmir watcher, he contributes regularly to various newspapers, journals and think tanks.
