Defence ministry to host Aero-India in Bengaluru from February 3-5
New Delhi: The defence ministry has taken an in-principle decision to host the next edition of Aero India -- considered Asia's largest aerospace exhibition -- in its traditional venue of Bengaluru from February 3-5 next year notwithstanding the coronavirus pandemic, official sources said on Friday.
The ministry took the decision to hold the biennial event as scheduled following inputs from the domestic defence industry and global aerospace majors, they said.
The sources said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has already held a number of internal meetings on hosting the mega event.
"It was decided that the event will be hosted while taking maximum precaution against the coronavirus pandemic," said a source.
Since its inception in 1996, Bengaluru has been hosting the event.
The sources said a significant number of global defence majors and big investors are expected to participate in the event besides official delegations from several countries.
The defence ministry plans to showcase its initiatives in promoting India's defence manufacturing at the event. The government has unveiled a number of policy initiatives in the last few months with an aim to boost domestic defence production.
On August 9, the defence minister announced that India will stop import of 101 weapons and military platforms like transport aircraft, light combat helicopters, conventional submarines, cruise missiles and sonar systems by 2024.
In a related development, the DRDO on Monday identified 108 military systems and subsystems like navigation radars, tank transporters and missile canisters for the domestic industry to design, develop and manufacture.
The premier organisation said it will also provide support to industries for design, development and testing of these systems on a requirement basis.
It has set a target of next year in developing the 108 systems and subsystems.
India is one the largest importers of arms globally.
According to estimates, the Indian armed forces are projected to spend around USD 130 billion in capital procurement in the next five years. The government now wants to reduce dependence on imported military platforms and decided to support domestic defence manufacturing.
The defence ministry has set a goal of a turnover of USD 25 billion (Rs 1.75 lakh crore) in defence manufacturing in the next five years that included an export target of USD 5 billion (Rs 35,000 crore) worth of military hardware.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
