Aero India 2023: 809 companies to attend, 251 MoUs worth Rs 75,000 cr expected to be inked

Asia’s biggest aero show, Aero India 2023, will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Bengaluru today. The 14th edition of the aero show will span over five days and will focus on the theme ‘The runway to a billion opportunities’. 

Defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Sunday that the aero show will demonstrate India’s manufacturing might, indigenous equipment and technologies. There will also be focus on forging partnerships with foreign companies. Singh said that the event will significantly contribute to the development of the aviation sector. 

February 13-15 will be business days, while 16-17 will be public days, allowing the public to witness the show. The Aero India 2023 event will include a Defence Ministers’ Conclave, a CEOs roundtable, a start-up event called Manthan, Bandhan ceremony, air shows, large exhibition, India Pavilion and a trade fair of aerospace companies.

All you need to know about the Aero India 2023: 

• The Aero India 2023 event, organised at Air Force Station, Yelahanka, will see participation by 98 countries. Defence ministers of 32 countries, Air Chiefs of 29 countries, and 73 CEOs of global and Indian OEMs will attend the event. 
• As many as 809 defence companies, including MSMEs and start-ups, will showcase their technologies and capabilities during the aero show. Around 5 lakh visitors are expected to attend the event.
• Airbus, Boeing, Dassault Aviation, Lockheed Martin, Israel Aerospace Industry, BrahMos Aerospace, Rolls Royce, Larsen & Toubro, Bharat Forge Limited, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) are among the major exhibitors of Aero Indian 2023. 

• The event will aim to promote the export of indigenous air platforms such as Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Tejas, HTT-40, Dornier Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) and Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH). 
• Defence minister Rajnath Singh will host the Defence Ministers’ Conclave on February 14. The conclave will see participation from defence ministers of friendly countries. The agenda of the conclave is to deepen cooperation for capacity building through investments, R&D, joint venture, co-development, co-production and provisioning of defence equipment, training, space, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and maritime security. 
• On the sidelines of Aero India 2023, a number of bilateral meetings will be held involving the defence minister, Chief of Defence Staff and Defence Secretary.
• The CEOs roundtable will be held on February 13. Officials, delegates and global CEOs from 26 countries including Boeing, Lockheed, Israel Aerospace Industries, General Atomics, Liebherr Group, Raytheon Technologies, Safran, General Authority of Military Industries (GAMI) as well as domestic PSUs like HAL, BEL, BDL, BEML will participate. 
• The Bandhan ceremony will witness the signing of MoUs on February 15. Two hundred and fifty one MoUs, with an expected investment of Rs 75,000 crore, are likely to be signed between various Indian and foreign defence companies.
• The annual defence innovation event, Manthan, will be held on February 15. It will bring leading innovators, start-ups, MSMEs, incubators, academia and investors from defence & aerospace ecosystem under one roof. 
• The ‘India Pavilion’, based on the ‘Fixed Wing Platform’ theme, will see the participation of a total of 115 companies, displaying 227 products. A full scale LCA-Tejas aircraft in Full Operational Capability (FOC) configuration will be at the center stage of India Pavilion. The pavilion will exhibit India’s growth in the Fixed Wing platform.

Also read: PM Modi to inaugurate Asia's biggest aviation show Aero India 2023 today; check details