After five days of breathtaking air displays by the world’s most lethal war birds, the curtains came down on the Aero India 2009, as dusk settled over the Yelahanka Air Force base on Sunday. Over two lakh visitors attended the show, which included 50,000 business visitors alone, exceeding the expectations at the start of the show.Organisers said that the five-day show was a grand success as defence industries are set to get a boost. Confederation of Indian Industries(CII) Deputy Director General, Gurpal Singh said that 588 business- to-business(B2B) meetings took place under the umbrella of CII. These include, 350 between Indian and foreign companies and the remaining between Indian business houses.
The newly introduced software, enabling online registration and enhancing business propositions amongst companies worldwide, proved a huge success during the show as about 600 meetings were held.
“The feed back has been positive, especially from the overseas visitors and companies.
The smal l and medium enterprises(SMEs) are the real winners as many foreign firms visited their hangars and they got to meet the top companies and their representatives which will help them develop components,” he said. He added that the highlight of the event was the raising of Rs 7.15 crore as venture capital through business and promoting components. “The SMEs are mainly engaged in development of components and their interest is looking at new avenues especially in the R&D process,” he added.
Another plus the show saw was the job creation opportunity in the defence and aerospace sector, as a large number of youngsters got to meet and interact with the who’s who in the two sectors. Singh said that a budgetary allocation of Rs 25 crore was made prior to the show but this had to be increased post the 26/11 Mumbai attacks as a lot of emphasis was given to security. In total, 303 companies from overseas and 289 from India participated in the five-day air show. The next edition of Aero India will be held at the same venue from February 9 to February 13, 2011.
The Highs...
Unprecedented security cover and no untoward incident Successful flight demonstration by the indigenous LCA and Saras Handing over of five ALH Dhruv to Ecuadorian Air Force Spectacular display by the four MMRCA contenders Facilitation of B2B meetings between aviation industries aided by special software Opportunity for youth to interact with the aviation companies and IAF officials First time participation of China and interaction of its delegation with Indian PSUs
And...the lows Publicity drive by MMRCA contenders by roping in guest pilots Indigenous IJT not performing in the show Bursting of tyres of F-16 IN aircraft Poor traffic management by the police outside the venue The Surya Kiran not performing its signature stunt Highly priced tickets