PM Narendra Modi inaugurates DefExpo22 in Gandhinagar

New Delhi: The Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the DefExpo22. The Expo, being held under the theme ‘Path to Pride’, is witness on the largest-ever participation in Indian Defence Expo held to date.

For the first time, it will witness a defence exhibition held exclusively for Indian companies including Indian subsidiaries of Foreign OEMs, Division of company registered in India, Exhibitor having Joint Venture with an Indian company. The event will showcase the expansive scope and scale of Indian defence manufacturing prowess.

The expo will have an India Pavilion and ten state pavilions. At the India Pavilion, the Prime Minister unveiled HTT-40 – the indigenous trainer aircraft designed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The aircraft has state of art contemporary systems and has been designed with pilot-friendly features.

During the programme, the Prime Minister also launched Mission DefSpace – to develop innovative solutions for the Defence Forces in the Space domain through industry & startups. The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone of the Deesa airfield in Gujarat. The forward airforce base will add to the security architecture of the country.

The expo will witness the 2nd India-Africa Defence Dialogue under the theme ‘India-Africa: Adopting strategy for synergizing Defence and Security Cooperation’.

The 2nd Indian Ocean Region+ (IOR+) Conclave will also be held during the Expo, which will provide a stage for a comprehensive dialogue to promote defence cooperation amongst IOR+ nations to foster peace, growth, stability and prosperity, in line with the Prime Minister’s vision for Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR). During the Expo, the first-ever Investors’ Meet for defence will take place.

It will also witness more than a hundred startups getting an opportunity to showcase their innovations at Manthan 2022, the defence innovation event of iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence). The event would also see the forging of 451 partnerships/launches through the event ‘Bandhan’.