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Asia's largest defence expo opens
Wednesday, 04 February 2004, 20:30 IST
NEW DELHI: Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes inaugurated Defexpo India 2004, Asia's largest defence exposition and the third in a series of biennial specialised land and naval systems exhibitions, here Wednesday.
India is showcasing the event, organised jointly by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the defence ministry, as a major forum for marketing its indigenously developed military hardware, ranging from radars to hi-tech systems like the BrahMos cruise missile developed with Russia.
The exposition, being held at the Pragati Maidan fairground till Saturday, is spread over 18,000 sq metres with participation from over 375 companies from 20 countries.
The organisers said that this time there was a 100 percent growth in Indian private sector participation, 34 percent increase in overseas participation and 43 percent increase in exhibition area and confirmed participation of a large number of business delegations from across the world.
Coinciding with the exposition, there will be Defenterprise, a focussed business fair for small-scale industries in the defence sector. Seminars and press conferences will also be organised during the show.
The second India Defence Industry Summit will be organised Friday.
After decades of being dependent on imported defence technology and know-how, India has emerged in recent years as a major manufacturer of low-cost but effective military hardware as its indigenous research and development programmes in areas as diverse as missiles and electronic warfare have come of age.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation has developed a wide array of equipment, ranging from the nuclear-capable Agni-II ballistic missile to the Tejas light combat aircraft.
Source: IANS
Source: IANS