JOIN USAero India 2015 saw good participation by the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), whose presence went up 50 per cent compared to the 2013 edition and is being touted as an industry success.
According to senior defence official M D Singh, the participation of MSMEs has gladdened the IAF in particular and the armed forces in general.
This is because the higher the number of manufacturers, faster the time in which an aircraft can be produced. The exhibition halls witnessed a high number of small scale industrialists, with most of them producing components for major aerospace companies.
It is evident that India will be part of the global supply chain of small components. The electronics industries too were many and a visit around the halls made it clear that the country was in the Make in India mode, with electrical and electronic goods getting large space.
As many as 328 foreign companies and 266 Indian firms took part in this show. However, the show was expensive with the organisers charging about Rs 50,000 per sq ft for foreigners and Rs 35,000 for Indian companies.
Small companies said that the rates were too high for them, despite the assurance by the Indian government and defence establishment about supporting them. “I wish the costs were lower and if the government had subsidised this, it would have helped us,” a small scale industrialist said.
Aerospace experts say high-profile signings and deals were absent.
Nothing close to the $-100 million range was signed because there were no projects proposed.
The air shows at Farnborough and Paris see deals high in financial value. What the Bengaluru show has done is to afford more visibility to small scale units, compared to business deals.