Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday said Bengaluru manufactures about two-thirds of India’s defence sector, reaffirming his government’s commitment to grow the sector and add more jobs.

About 45,000 skilled youth were involved in the defence and aerospace sector, the chief minister said while speaking at the launch of Aero India 2023. Karnataka’s aerospace and defence policy is aiding the sector’s growth, the CM said, referring to the policy the government notified last year, aiming $ 6 billion in investments, and 60,000 jobs in the sector over five years.
Karnataka will make a big contribution to making India a global leader in the sector, Bommai said, while thanking the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for extending the opportunity to the state to host this year’s edition of Asia’s premier air show.

Bengaluru hosted the air show as scheduled on a grand scale during the Covid pandemic even as the Paris air show was cancelled. The ongoing air show was the biggest event at the international level due to its scale, and exhibition. Karnataka will sustain its contributions to increase the capacity of the nation’s defence forces, he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who kicked off the five-day show, tweeted that he visited the “exemplary Karnataka Pavilion at Aero India 2023. The entire nation is proud of Karnataka’s rich contribution to the aerospace industry.”