The 12th Edition of DefExpo 2022 is currently underway in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. As an exemplary biennial event held by the Ministry of Defence, this event showcases a variety of land, naval, air and homeland security systems. With the 11th edition held at Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, in 2020, this year’s DefExpo breaks new ground as it is hosted across four venues for the first time ever. The central objective of this year’s exhibition is to inspire attendees to participate in Aerospace and Defence manufacturing with the aim of achieving ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in Defence.
DefExpo 2022: A Beacon of ‘Make in India, Make for the World’
DefExpo 2022 serves as a platform to demonstrate the might of the domestic defence industry that supports the government’s ‘Make in India, Make for the World’ initiative. This year, the event has been organized exclusively for Indian companies, adopting “Path to Pride” as its core theme.
Key Events at DefExpo
Numerous key events are on the DefExpo 2022 agenda. This includes hosting the second edition of the India-Africa Defence Dialogue (IADD), welcoming participants from 53 African countries. Through the IADD, opportunities for mutual engagement in areas such as capacity building, training, cybersecurity, maritime security and counter-terrorism will be explored.
Simultaneously, the Indian Ocean Region plus (IOR+) conclave will take place, with approximately 40 countries taking part. This conclave will see India promoting its military hardware to the international community. Another event to look forward to is the celebration marking one year since the establishment of seven new defence companies carved out from erstwhile Ordnance Factories. These companies are participating for the first time in DefExpo.
Defence Sector Reforms under Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan
The government has implemented several reforms in the defence sector under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. These reforms include increasing the FDI limit in defence manufacturing from 49% to 74%. Furthermore, the government plans to start time-bound defence procurement and expedite decision making by instituting a Project Management Unit, which will serve contract management purposes.
In an effort to reduce defence imports, the government will release a list of weapons and platforms that are banned for import, encouraging domestic purchase of these items instead. Additionally, a separate budget provision has been made specifically for domestic capital procurement.
Among other significant reforms is the corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board. This process will involve publicly listing some units while facilitating a more efficient interaction between manufacturers, designers and end-users.
