New Delhi: Top honchos from big multinational companies including L&T, Adani Defence, Bharat Forge, Saab, Airbus and Lockheed Martin are likely to take part in the ‘Invest for Defence’ to be organised as part of the five-day 12th edition of DefExpo, which gets underway at Gandhinagar from October 18,  the Ministry of Defence said with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh  scheduled to inaugurate the event on October 20.

‘Invest for Defence’, the first-ever marquee event of the Ministry of Defence, is targeted to promote investment in the defence sector in the country both by the Indian industry as well as Foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers.

The event will highlight the requirements of the Armed Forces and policy reforms undertaken by the Government for ease of doing business in the defence sector. It provides the industry with the opportunities and the advantages of investing in the sector and thus contributing to maximising indigenous production.

The event is expected to witness participation from the big industry names, both Indian as well as foreign OEMs, such as L&T, Adani Defence, Bharat Forge, Saab, Airbus, Lockheed Martin etc., besides participation from Domestic and Foreign Institutional Investors and Venture Capitalists, according to an official statement released by the Ministry of Defence.

The event will feature a panel discussion between the industry stalwarts and the MoD and Armed Forces leadership. The discussion will be followed by a Q&A session, wherein participants can ask questions from the eminent panelists. The target audience for the event is industry representatives including those from MSMEs and Startups, policymakers and enthusiasts in the defence sector.

Another highlight of the event will be a B2B interaction among the OEMs, including both DPSUs and foreign OEMs, on the ‘Opportunities from large platforms’. Concurrently, with this B2B interaction an iDEX pitching event for the budding start-ups in Defence is also planned.