The Show of Our Times

Smruti Deshpande

Yelahanka, Bengaluru: The stage was set for the 14th edition of Aero India to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Prime Minister’s convoy drove in. But unlike other dignitaries, including defence minister Rajnath Singh, civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, Karnataka chief minister Basvaraj Bommai, Karnataka governor Thawar Chand Gehlot and minister of state for defence Ajay Bhatt, who were seated in the front row of the grand stand to watch the flypast, the Prime Minister walked toward the chair placed close to the runway--his back to the audience, his ministerial colleagues, as well as the grand stage. There he sat in splendid isolation, watching the flypast.

Post the fly-past, Prime Minister Modi inaugurated Aero India 2023 by unveiling a commemorative stamp. “The fact that 100 countries are participating in the show shows the amount of trust that the world has started putting on India,” he said in his address, adding that the participation of different countries and CEOs’ would ensure that Aero India’s global potential rises. The event would also act as a medium to take India’s relations with friendly foreign countries further.

“Aero India today reflects new India’s new approaches,” the Prime Minister said. “There was a time when this event was limited to being a show or a mere window to India. But in the past few years, the country has changed this perception too. Today, Aero India is not merely a show, it is India’s strength. Today, it focuses on the Indian defence industry’s scope and self-confidence. This is because today, for foreign defence companies, India is not limited to being a market. Today, India is looked at as a potential defence partner. This partnership extends to even th