Aero India 2023 from 13-17 February in Bengaluru will not just be an event, but a display of the growing prowess of the defence & aerospace sector and the rise of a strong and self-reliant ‘New India’, said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Singh said it when he was reviewing the preparations of the Aero India during the apex committee meeting held in New Delhi.

Singh was given a detailed account of the arrangements of the 14th edition of Asia’s largest aero show. He exhorted all the stakeholders to ensure foolproof arrangements for the participants.

The five-day event, on the theme ‘The runway to a billion opportunities’, will be the biggest-ever aero show organised at Air Force Station, Yelahanka in a total area of around 35,000 sqm. As of date, 731 exhibitors have registered for the event.

The Defence Ministers’ Conclave, with the theme ‘Shared Prosperity Through Enhanced Engagement in Defence (SPEED)’, and a CEOs Roundtable are among the marquee events.

The Manthan start-up event and Bandhan ceremony, which witnesses the signing of MoUs, will also be part of the event, along with a fabulous air show on all five days. It will showcase the paradigm shift the government has brought with the aim of organising such events, which also include DefExpo.

The events have been restructured with a focus on increasing defence exports and forging partnerships rather than merely import of weapons and equipment.

Singh pointed out that the country’s defence industry was going through a transformational phase and the active participation of the private sector was the biggest catalyst to that change.

“Not just the private sector, but R&D establishments and academia are also working together with the government. Aero India is a medium to provide a platform to all the stakeholders to jointly strengthen the defence and aerospace sector and contribute to nation-building,” he added.

He emphasised that while Aero India was a business event, it also aimed to strengthen India’s relations with other countries. He also underlined the importance of these events for the business ecosystem of the states in which they were organised as well as available opportunities.

The defence minister commended Bengaluru for successfully organising several editions of AeroIndia, saying that the event was shaping Karnataka as an epicenter of the aviation and aerospace industry.