PUNE, September 16, 2018. Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Subhash Bhamre today inaugurated the first ever Equipment Display by key Indian defence players to the BIMSTEC Nation Armies at Pune. The equipment display was organised by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in association with the Indian Army on September 15 – 16, 2018 at Pune, concurrent to BIMSTEC MILEX (Military Exercise).
During his visit to the equipment display, Dr. Bhamre was accompanied by General Bipin Rawat (UYSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM, ADC), Chief of Army Staff, India; Vice Senior Gen Soe Win, Dy Cdr-in-Chief, Myanmar Defence Services; Lieutenant General NUMMW Senanayake, RWP, RSP, USP, USACGSC, Cdr. of Sri Lanka Army; General Aziz Ahmed, BGBM, PBGM, BGMS, psc, G, Chief of Army Staff, Bangladesh; Lieutenant General Choochart Buakhao, Dy Chief of Staff (Ops), Thailand; Brigadier Dorji Rinchen, DNY, Dy Chief Operations Officer (Q), Bhutan and Lieutenant General DR Soni PVSM, VSM, GOC-in-C, Southern Command, Indian Army
Dr. Bhamre also unveiled the ‘Equipment Display Catalogue’ which captured the details of nearly 250+ product exhibits covering Small Arms and Munitions, Surveillance Equipment, Communication and Radars, Body Protection Armour Solutions, Protected and Heavy Vehicles, Mobility Solutions, Simulators etc. that could be offered to the BIMSTEC Nation armies.
The equipment display which opened on 15th September was visited by the army contingents from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Bhutan, Nepal and senior officers from the Indian Army Headquarters, New Delhi and Southern Army Command, Pune. While the equipment display enabled the system integrators to promote their export capability, it also gave business visitors from tier 2 and tier 3 industries to understand the systems being offered by SIs and be a part of their supply chain.
“The visits by senior army officers and the decision makers from BIMSTEC Nations to the equipment display has opened up new avenues of export opportunities for the Indian defence majors. FICCI will continue to play its role as a facilitator to develop indigenous defence capability and promote our defence exports,” said Mr Vivek Pandit, Assistant Secretary General, FICCI.
Indian defence players who pitched their offerings to the BIMSTEM Nations included Larsen & Toubro, Zen Technologies, Tata Motors, Bharat Forge, DRDO, Ordnance Factory Board, Bharat Electronics, BEML, Tata Aerospace and Defence, Ashok Leyland, Alpha Design Technologies, Punj Lloyd, MKU, SM Group, Precision Electronics, ideaForge and Clensta Technologies (partnered by IIT Delhi).
