For the first Indian Pavilion at the biggest defence exhibition in South American nation Brazil — LAAD witnessed a huge interest. Five Defence PSUs were part of the Indian Pavilion and some private sector companies from India participated in the four day expo in Rio de Janeiro last month.
“There is no denying that all companies in the eyes of the Ministry of Defence are contributors to the export target set for 5 billion US dollars by 2024. We are more than eager that the private sector companies should be part of the India pavilion in every stretch of the imagination, there is absolutely no way that we want them to be out,” Achal Malhotra, Director, Defence Exhibition Organisation (DEO) told Financial Express Online. According to him, in the Latin American region, there are some opportunities in diverse fields, however, bigger private companies have not yet identified it as their region of interest. “We look at this as an opportunity. They are absolutely welcome inside the India pavilion, and there would be no differentiation whether I mean the connotation of private and public would not even be a narrative of the pavilion,” he said in response to a question on why just five companies in the India Pavilion.
Following are excerpts of an interaction of Achal Malhotra, with Huma Siddiqui
Is this the first time that you have come to LAAD, or any other defence exhibition in South America?
India has participated in LAAD in the past, but the participation has not been as pronounced as it is in LAAD 2023. The event itself is happening after a gap of four years. And in these four years, our Indian aerospace and defence industry has really benefited from India’s policy interventions. The proof of the pudding is in eating. If you check the data from the recent financial year, we have recorded an export of over Rs 15,900 crores. And therefore, this is a direct reflection of our efforts to reach outside of the country and showcase our products. In that background, the India pavilion itself has come a long way.
We set up the pavilion in the true international spirit and the companies got their special areas where they showcased their range of products. We have had delegations from the senior most officials from within Brazil, the Secretary Production from Argentina, and the Chief of Defence Staff from Algeria among others. We have used this as an opportunity to present ourselves internationally.
This is the first time India pavilion in a South American expo got so much attention. Why?
Yes. The credit for this goes to our mission in Brazil with Ambassador Suresh Reddy and Defence Attache Grp Capt. Manish Khullar leading the efforts, here. Marketing is an art and a craft. It can’t be as simple as just distributing some brochures. It has to be a sales pitch, which conveys that you’re serious about your intent to do this thing. The government has very clearly defined that this is something that we want to do. This is something that will make us also achieve our own domestic production targets. So since the roadmap is very clear, the on-ground efforts have to be towards that. And if we have to go towards that, then there is one method where we can learn by seeing others who have already found success. Secondly, it is also that time and era where everybody’s conscious about packaging and branding… there is information overload. If your information is not standing out, then there’s very little that anyone can do for you.
Realistically, what could be the challenges you face in this region?
Language is a minor barrier. It’s more about understanding the market needs, number one. Secondly, understanding how much your competitors are willing to go. And you need to cater to the competition. Three, it’s also a learning curve. Fourth, it is something which we experience is your repeatability of performance. That means if this India pavilion is good, the next one should be better. And the next one should be even better.
Do you have any future plans to offer more defense-related solutions in the region?
So far as the government of India is concerned, we are reaching out to just about every company through the industry associations. In fact, we are also encouraging them to make firm commitments of participation in exhibitions, whether it is in the current year or it is in the next year so that we can plan to have more companies here. The response from the private sector participation is yet to formalise into their physical presence here. And we have also had a set of discussions with the Chambers as to how we can bridge this particular gap? But the answer to the question is yes, we want to have more companies here. More companies reflecting different spheres of the production line in India is something that will help the country’s export orders and also find co-development and co-production partners.
Do you think that something is missing which is why the private companies are not coming on this side? Or are they looking for government support?
Since I do events, there is no substitute to coming here physically, and presenting your product physically. Because in the age of internet, and video conferencing and webinars, we have already been through the fact that there’s no substitute to a physical representation. These exhibitions, despite being expensive propositions, have always benefited the companies who are doing the business. And that is the very reason that our own homegrown shows are an instant house full, even though we’ve given them timelines of three months. People are ready to pay expenses, extra amounts of money, go through the logistics challenges and still be part of exhibitions because that gives them visibility on orders. Also, it becomes a platform where there is a homogeneous mixture of the user, and possibly the decision-making bodies, which are sometimes the same and most of the times they are two different sets of people. Another thing is that there is also a willingness for the senior decision makers to see the equipment in the light of procurement opportunities. And last but not least, you also get a comparative assessment between your competitors and yourself. Because if you see, there is also market intelligence being gathered in such events. Therefore, there is no substitute to private companies participating in greater numbers. Do we need to do more on this? The answer is a definite yes. Because I will see that if we are having 1000 companies in Defexpo, and probably a similar amount in Aero India, out of which a majority are Indian companies, then a number of five companies here in the pavilion is probably much lesser and given the fact that we also have other private companies in the same exhibitions.
Only five companies were present under the Indian Pavilion banner. It gives a different sort of impression to an outsider. Your views.
We will have to go the extra mile, as we are doing already, to try and reach out to the companies. There is no denying that all companies in the eyes of the Ministry of Defence are contributors to the export target set for 5 billion US dollars by 2024. There is absolutely no doubt and there is absolute clarity on that aspect. We are more than eager that the private sector companies should be part of the India pavilion in every stretch of the imagination, there is absolutely no way that we want them to be out. But you take the Latin American region, I think they’ve got some opportunities in diverse fields, but bigger private companies have not yet identified it as their region. We look at this as an opportunity.
There is an annual budget which is dedicated by certain companies abroad, as a matter of an annual exercise. I am not very sure whether we have something like this back home with our private companies. With the DPSUS yes, we reach out to them, we ask them their market strategy. We also have our defence attaches recommending to us that these are regions where Indian presence would be something that would give us the export opportunity. We do this 360-degree analysis much before we plan to set up the India pavilion. And this exercise needs to translate into a firm presence of a private company also.
