Aero-India 2021 (Virtual) for Sri Lankan armed forces

Indian and Sri Lankan dignitaries at Aero-India Virtual 2021 held at the Taj Samudra

The Aero India (Virtual) 2021 in hybrid format was an unprecedented success despite the Covid 19, with 121 MoUs, 19 Transfer of Technology, 4 handing over and 18 product launches. The worlds’s first mega event on a hybrid format, saw Rs 203 Crore worth of orders being bagged by 45 MSMEs making it a grand success, said the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The Aero India (Virtual) was attended by 16,000 people physically and 4.5 lakh virtually. The platform hosted 540 companies, including 84 foreign companies from 55 nations.

India committed to invest 130 billion dollars towards enhancing security by military modernization in next 7-8 years and the Aero India was a platform ‘Runway to a Billion opportunities’ to realize this goal. President Ram Nath Kovind expressed his happiness over Hindustan Aeronautical Limited bagging the 83 Tejas Aircraft deal from Indian Air Force valued at Rs 48,000 crore. Thus significantly strengthening India’s self-reliance in defence sector as well as establishing India as a manufacturer for the world. The President said that Aero India 2021 was a living proof of nation’s ever growing strength in the defence and aerospace sectors at the global level.

The event undoubtedly propelled Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ to a new pedestal. The air show saw from fighter aircraft Light Combat Aircraft (Tejas), Maritime Patrol Aircraft like DO-228, Advanced Light Helicopter (Dhruv), Light Combat Helicopter, Light Utility Helicopter and the Air Tatoo by ‘Sarang’ and ‘Surya Kirans’ mesmerizing the crowds at Bengaluru, India.

The High Commission of India in Sri Lanka organized the Aero India Virtual for the Sri Lanka defence forces and the local business community at Taj Samudra. The events spanning over three days had RAdm (Retd) Dr Sarath Weerasekara, Minister for Public Security, General (Retd) Kamal Gunaratne Secretary Defence and Admiral (Retd) Prof Jayantha Colombage, Foreign Secretary gracing various seminars organized by Indian Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard virtually as the Guests of Honour in Sri Lanka.

-(Indian HC)