MoS Defence Ajay Bhatt, Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar and other senior officials of the ministry were present in the meeting.
The 12th edition of DefExpo, scheduled to be held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, during 18-22 October, has seen a record 1,136 companies register for the event as of 27 September, the ministry said.
The theme of 12th DefExpo is ‘Path to Pride’ which is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to transform India into a strong and self-reliant nation by supporting, showcasing and forging partnerships for the Indian Aerospace and Defence manufacturing sectors with Indian as well as global customers.
The event will showcase the might of the domestic defence industry which is now powering ‘Make in India, Make for the World’ resolve of the Government and the nation at large.
The event will be the first-ever edition exclusively for Indian companies. Indian companies, Indian subsidiaries of Foreign OEMs, Division of company registered in India, Exhibitor having Joint Venture with an Indian company will be considered as Indian participants.
The DefExpo 2022 will also mark the celebration of one year of the formation of the seven new defence companies, carved out of the erstwhile Ordnance Factory Board. All these companies will be participating for the first time at DefExpo.
The 12th DefExpo will be a five-day exhibition, with 18-20 October business days and 21-22 October for public display.
In addition, the exhibition will host the second edition of the India-Africa Defence Dialogue, in which several defence ministers from African countries are expected to participate. A separate Indian Ocean Region plus conclave has also been planned.
The India Pavilion - a marque pavilion of Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence - will showcase the maturity of indigenous defence products, start-ups, latest technology, including Artificial Intelligence in defence, and will present India’s vision for 2047. It has been named ‘Path to Pride’.
According to the ministry, over 50 startups will showcase their products at the pavilion. For the first time, states/union territories have been invited to set up pavilions at the event, with several confirming their participation.
More than 300 partnerships in terms of MoUs, Transfer of Technology agreements and product launches are being finalised, it said.
