It’s curtains for 13th edition of air show; 128 pacts signed

The event lacked lustre of previous editions due to Covid-19 curbs

President Ram Nath Kovind and his wife Savitha arrive at Yelahanka Air Force Station to take part in the concluding ceremony of Aero India 2021. DH PHOTOS/KRISHNAKUMAR P S

The 13th and first hybrid edition of Aero India came to a close on Friday without any of the serious mishaps which had dogged the event in 2019. However, the event lacked the lustre of previous editions.

The air show, which was marked by extensive regulations intended to mitigate the spread of Covid-19, resulted in an often underwhelming presence. Many of the five halls set up to host over 500 companies showed limited interactions.

Products were primarily models or mockups. Advanced military electronics were on show but occupants of several stalls told DH that business interest was slight. Setups of several international firms were similarly underwhelming.

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The response to the centerpiece of the expo, the India Pavilion, where indigenous rotary platforms were on display was also less than expected, with the expo hall showing significantly less than the 1,000-person capacity set for it at any given time. A DH visit on all three days of the expo showed crowd numbers were less than half of the capacity limit on average.

Rajnath gives air show a high five

In his valedictorian address, the Minister of Defence, Rajnath Singh, said that the three-day event had seen the attendance of 4.5 lakh people - most of whom had logged in virtually. “The event saw the physical attendance of 16,000 people,” he added.

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Despite the low number of business visitors, Rajnath said that the expo had nevertheless seen the signing of 128 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs), 19 transfers of technology, four hand-overs, the launching of 18 products and with 45 MSMEs bagging 203 crore worth of orders and 32 major announcements, totalling 201 feats.

“This is a major achievement,” Rajnath said.

During a special MoU signing event on Friday afternoon, Defence Minister also suggested that the air show would encourage the increased manufacture of defence-related items in the country, which would help the country bring down its defence imports by at least $2 billion by 2022.

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He added that the aerospace sector has an important role to play if India is to reach its domestic defence production of $25 billion and exports of $5 billion by 2025.

Among the highlights of the show were a special Defence Minister’s Conclave for members of the Indian Ocean Rim (IOR) association to discuss enhancing peace, security and cooperation in the Indian Ocean. The Conclave was participated by 28 IOR countries. In addition, the Chiefs of Air Staff Conclave saw the participation of 26 countries and 16 virtually.

The aircraft lineup was also limited, largely comprising aircraft from the Indian Air Force, while international operators most stayed away, barring flyovers by a United States Air Force B-1 Lancer stealth bomber and the appearance of a Ukrainian transport aircraft.