The 10th edition of the country’s largest defence exhibition DefExpo was held at Tiruvidanthai in Kancheepuram district, near Chennai, from April 11 to 14. In a departure from earlier editions, the event undertook to project India’s defence manufacturing capabilities to the world, as reflected in the tagline for the show this year – ‘India: The Emerging Defence Manufacturing Hub’.
DefExpo 2018 was formally inaugurated on April 12 by the Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi. The inauguration was graced by Tamil Nadu Governor, Mr. Banwari Lal Purohit, Defence Minister, Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Mr. Edappadi K. Palaniswami, Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister, Mr. O. Panneerselvam, Union Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Subhash Ramrao Bhamre, among many others. Several Central and State Ministers, Ministers and Ambassadors from various participating countries were also present. Over 6,000 delegates and invitees participated in the inaugural event at the venue.
PM Modi also inaugurated the ‘DefExpo India Pavilion’ which showcased the combined strength of India’s public sector and private sector in Defence production. This was the first time that the DefExpo had set up an India Pavilion to project its capabilities in defence manufacturing.
Indian participation included majors like Tata, L&T, Kalyani, Bharat Forge, Ashok Leyland, Mahindra, MKU Ltd., Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., Bharat Electronics Ltd., Bharat Dynamics Ltd., Bharat Earth Movers Ltd., Alkraft Thermotechnologies, among others with more than 100 indigenously manufactured products like Aakash Missile Systems, Brahmos, ATAG, Wheeled APC, etc., showcased along with an immersive light and sound show.
DefExpo 2018 Stats
- 702 exhibitors participated in DefExpo 2018 – 542 Indian exhibitors, including 160 MSMEs, and 160 international exhibitors.
- Total exhibition space – 2,90,000 sq. ft., a sizeable jump from DefExpo 2016 which had an area of 2,25,000 sq. ft.
- Indian exhibitors occupied 72% of total exhibition area including 20% for MSMEs.
- In total, over 3.5 lakh people visited DefExpo 2018 and its events.