'Self-Reliance' and 'Self-Respect': Aero India 2021

摘要

Emblazoned with the overarching theme of 'Self-Reliance' as a mark of 'self respect' and 'sovereignty', India played host to its biennial flagship airshow - the 13th edition of Aero India 2021, albeit in a scaled down manner, with only 14 countries participating. With US$135Bn announced for the modernisation of the Indian defence forces, India has become the world's largest arms market. Owing to the ongoing global pandemic, participation in Aero India saw a reduction in foreign participation from 165 foreign exhibitors in 2019 to only 78 this year. The clarion call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May 2020 for 'Self-Reliance' continued to be heard at this year's airshow. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reiterated the target of increasing the country's defence base from US$11Bn to US$25Bn by 2025, including an export component of US$5Bn. Minister Singh stated that defence exports have grown from US$278M to US$1.25Bn from 2015-2020 with a vast majority spearheaded by the private sector, adding that, the aero components sector is set to grow from US$4.17Bn to US$8.34Bn by 2024.