Defence Expo to be held in Gandhinagar in March

Gujarat will host its first Defence Expo, the flagship event of the Ministry of Defence for the domestic and global industry interested in the Indian arms market. The event will be held in Gandhinagar next March, with the theme of ‘India as a defence manufacturing hub’.

Past editions of the show have been held at New Delhi, Goa, Chennai and Lucknow. The decision to choose Gujarat was taken after interacting with all interested states that gave presentations to the defence ministry, insiders said. Goa and Telangana had also been shortlisted for the show that brings thousands of representatives from global arms companies, Indian private sector players and officials from the armed forces.

While Gujarat is not yet a defence manufacturing hub, the state has potential to tap into the growing market set to be driven by Indian arms exports to the world. The biggest private sector shipyard (the erstwhile Pipavav) geared for producing naval warships is located at Gujarat but is currently under litigation due to loan defaults. The Ahmedabad based Adani Group has identified the defence sector as a focus area and has already invested in acquiring smaller companies engaged in military manufacturing. The group has identified small arms and ammunition, UAVs and anti-drone systems as its growth areas in the short term.