Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has arrived in Karnataka’s Bengaluru to attend the 14th edition of Aero India to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow.

PM Modi will inaugurate the mega event at the Air Force station in Bengaluru’s Yelahanka on Monday.

According to an official release, the theme of Aero India 2023 is ‘The Runway to a Billion Opportunities’.

In line with the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Make in India, Make for the World’, the event will focus on displaying indigenous equipment/technologies and forging partnerships with foreign companies.

Prime Minister’s emphasis on Aatmanirbharta in the Indian Defence sector will also be displayed, as the event will showcase the country’s progress in design leadership, growth in UAVs sector, defence space and futuristic technologies.

Further, the event will promote the export of indigenous air platforms like Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Tejas, HTT-40, Dornier Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) and Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH).

The event will also help integrate domestic MSMEs and start-ups in the global supply chain and attract foreign investments, including co-development and co-production partnerships.

Aero India 2023 will witness participation by more than 80 countries. Ministers of about 30 countries and 65 CEOs of global and Indian OEMs are likely to participate in Aero India 2023.

The event will also witness the participation of more than 800 Defence companies including around 100 foreign and 700 Indian companies.

The Indian companies participating in the exhibition include MSMEs and start-ups, which will showcase the advancement of niche technologies, and growth in aerospace and defence capabilities in the country.

Major exhibitors in Aero India 2023 include Airbus, Boeing, Dassault Aviation, Lockheed Martin, Israel Aerospace Industry, BrahMos Aerospace, Army Aviation, HC Robotics, SAAB, Safran, Rolls Royce, Larsen and Toubro, Bharat Forge Limited, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) and BEML Limited.