Delivering the inaugural address at the 8th Aero India 2011 here on Wednesday, the Indian Defence Minister, AK Antony said : “India’s democratic credentials and a fast growing economy have convinced the world that it can play a responsible and a stabilizing role in the region. India has always been a votary of peace. Yet, violent disturbances in our immediate and extended neighbourhood pose security challenges for our nation and the region as a whole”.

Saying that India was committed to rapid modernisation of its Armed Forces and equiping them with the state-of-the-art systems, equipment and platforms, he said : “Our current defence expenditure – 2.5% of its GDP, is consistent with our projected security requirements and is bound to increase over the next two decades”.

Antony called for joint ventures, public-private partnerships and licence production under transfer of technology for the all-round development of Indian aerospace industry which which has emerged as the fastest growing in the world. The Hindustan Aeronautic Ltd is one company which has some rich experience in the field. Some other major companies have recently entered the fray, he said.

Over 40 foreign delegations are participating in the Aero India-2011.

“We have charted out a course to increase self-reliance in the defence sector by creating a strong industrial base in the country. The recently released Defence Production Policy spells out the blueprint of the roadmap that we intend to follow. We are encouraging our public and private sector industries to become active partners in this initiative. I am sure that leading international aerospace companies will form long-term partnerships with the Indian industry”, Antony said.

He informed that India was fine tuning its Defence Procurement Procedure through periodic reviews to make it as transparent and efficient as possible. The scope of the existing Offset Policy Guidelines has been expanded to include civil aerospace, internal security, training and eligible products and services for the discharge of offset obligations

Aero India 2011 will showcase the latest international technology in the fields of military and civil aircraft, avionics and sub-systems, as well as radars in the defence and aerospace sector. This event will further enhance India’s emergence as an attractive market and a key outsourcing hub for global aerospace firms. India possesses all the essential ingredients – namely cost-effective manufacturing, skilled engineers, efficient organizations, the technology and software to do so.