The aerospace and defense exhibition Aero India 2017 was low-key in terms of business activities, with no major deals signed or Ministry of Defence announcements on the Strategic Partners policy, which has the potential to boost business for the domestic private sector.
Friday was the expo’s final business day, but it remains open Feb. 18 for the general public.
More than 72 fighter aircraft participated at the event in the wake of the runup for a production tender for single-engine fighters for the Indian Air Force; however, the MoD did not announce introduce a road map for the tender.
Mostly only joint venture agreements and memorandums of understanding were announced between overseas defense companies and Indian entities. Foreign companies partner with domestic businesses to stay connected to the Indian market, which will see all future big-ticket tenders awarded to domestic companies under a much-awaited MoD policy.
A top MoD official said Aero India 2017 was productive, as it provided a platform to foreign original equipment manufacturers to forge partnerships with domestic defense companies to move forward Make in India defense initiatives