New Delhi: Even as preparations are on in full swing for the flagship event – DefExpo 2022 in Gandhinagar, uncertainty appears to loom over the event as the spectre of pandemic Covid-19 continues to hang over Gujarat.
Two major events have already been postponed – Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit slated to have been held from January 10 to 12 and the International Kite Summit from January 8 to 14. The kite festival which is the festival of Uttarayan is a uniquely Gujarati phenomenon.
The 12th edition of the DefExpo is being held in the state for the first time – a show piece event expected to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is reportedly taking a personal interest in the holding of this prestigious event.
The uncertainty of the event taking off is a major concern as this mega event would have provided a major thrust to achieve a target of exporting defence equipment worth Rs 35,000 crore ($5 billion) by 2025. According to the draft Defence Production Export Promotion Policy 2020 released by the Ministry of Defence, the export target is part of the total projected turnover. The government is eyeing a turnover of Rs 1.75 lakh crore ($25 billion) in defence manufacturing by 2025 as it has identified the sector as a potential driver to boost the overall economy.
The policy also looks at doubling domestic procurement from the Indian industry and this that is putting immense pressure on the state government to somehow ensure that the show goes on. The state government has already issued tenders for various works though work orders have not yet been issued as officials in charge of the event are closely monitoring the course the pandemic is taking in the state before taking a final decision.
According to reports, the progress is being monitored closely from New Delhi with both Defence Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) keeping tabs on it. The state government has sought assistance from the Defence Ministry which is one of the key ministries for the holding of this event.
“A final call will be taken at the end of this month (January). But, it will be too short a time to put in place a mega expo like this one,” officials said. As the officials said “as this being held for the first time in Gujarat, the Centre wants the state to make a good show of it and the short notice will make it difficult if it goes ahead.”
One of the reasons the Centre appears on wanting the Expo to be success is because Prime Minister Narendra Modi is from the state and surely with an eye on the upcoming Assembly elections, the Centre wants this to be a show piece event.
As Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had said about the DefExpo that it would bring all the latest technologies under one roof and provide a myriad of opportunities to the stakeholders in the aerospace and defence industry.
“The Defence Expo-2022 is going to provide an overview of what India has been able to achieve in terms of defence R and D and production, application of modern technologies, liberalized collaborative policies that we have introduced in a short period of 5-7 years,” Singh had said. “India is open to doing business on a mutually beneficially collaborative basis, in the spirit of giving and take, for the all-round welfare of everyone”.
“At the same time, I can also assure you that the state of Gujarat has such richness of culture, art, food and serenity to offer that DefExpo-2022 will leave a lasting imprint on the participating delegates,” he added.
The focus of the exhibition will be to showcase India as an emerging hub for the manufacturing of military hardware.
“The defence ministry will remain available and proactively engage through the next four-plus months to develop and build DefExpo-2022 as one of the marquee events as India celebrates its 75 years of independence as Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav,” the Defence Minister had emphasised.
After having sounded an optimistic note, the situation on the ground in the state does not appear to be so positive as the pandemic continues to take a heavy toll. Even as the uncertainty over the holding of the DefExpo continues, according to reports, new cases of Covid-19 in Gujarat are on the rise and the health department has called for all hands on deck, cancelling leaves of employees with immediate effect.
A press release by the state government said that in light of the Covid-19 situation and with the “transmission of the disease likely to increase in the near future”, leaves will not be granted in the near future unless for “unavoidable circumstances”.
The rising cases has led to cancellation of a slew of events scheduled in Ahmedabad and other parts in the state including the International Kite Festival and Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s Annual Flower Show, “in the wake of rapid surge in Covid-19 cases in the state”. The Flower Show was scheduled from January 8 to 23.
Minister of State of Home department Harsh Sanghavi announced on Twitter that NaMo Job Fair, held every year on the occasion of Sanghavi’s birthday, has been cancelled “as per the growing Covid cases” and added that “new dates of the Job Fair will be announced soon.”
The job fair was scheduled to be held in Surat on January 8. The 42nd Saptak Annual Music Festival in Ahmedabad, organised by the Saptak School of Music, which commenced on January 1 and was planned to continue until January 13, was “temporarily stopped” due to the Covid situation, according to a statement.
With so many events cancelled or postponed, the officials in charge of making arrangements for the DefExpo have taken account of these developments. The DefExpo is seven times the size of VGGS with Defence Ministers of about 70 countries expected to attend it and with participation by over 70,000 persons.
Besides, major global and domestic military firms are expected to participate in the biennial event which provides a platform for these companies to have Business-to-Business contacts and an opportunity for Indian companies to display their wares and make a sales pitch for them.
The DefExpo 2022 is a major platform for the indigenous defence industry to pitch their sales to the armed forces whose delegates would be attending and considering that the government is focusing on “Atmanirbhar Bharat,” to encourage “Make in India,” defence equipment.
With this in mind, the theme of the event is “India: The Emerging Defence Manufacturing Hub,” showcasing measures taken by Centre to encourage domestic industry.
A major highlight of the DefExpo 2022 will be the Indian-African Dialogue in which Defence Ministers from Africa would be participating. The thrust being to explore the African market considering that China has been focusing on the continent having already set up a Naval base in Djibouti.
The Defence Public Sector Undertaking (DPSU), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) which has been playing a key role in the Aerospace sector in the country and is a nodal agency for the DefExpo has already invited tenders from hotels for nearly 5,000 rooms in four-star and five-star hotels in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar and made elaborate arrangements for the stay of their delegates. The DPSU has submitted its requirements for rooms for almost over a month from February 7 to March 18.
According to original plan, officials from HAL and Defence Ministry were to visit Gujarat to oversee arrangements in all the 3,600 rooms in Four-Star hotels and 1,400 rooms in Five-Star hotels which are to be booked. However, due to the prevailing scenario, an official said “we have got quotations from various hotels and once we get the green signal from the Centre, we will confirm the booking.”
So, the hotel booking too for the delegates coming for the three-day Mega event hangs in the balance depending on the situation due to the pandemic. As part of the elaborate arrangements, state government will be renting 7,000 vehicles for the event and tenders have already been issued for the same. These include luxury cars like Mercedes, Audi and BMW for various foreign delegates. Fortuner, Innova and other SUVs will also be part of the fleet, officials said.
As Defence Minister said that the DefExpo 2022 “will provide an overview of what India has been able to achieve in terms of defence research and development, production and application of modern technologies for use by the military,” – the uncertainty on the event’s fate poses a big challenge for the government and hopefully, it will ensure that the mega show happens on schedule and successfully.
