As the 12th edition of Aero India came to a close on Sunday evening, an element of suspense continued over whether Bengaluru, which is considered the aerospace hub of the country, will be hosting the next edition.
While Chief Secretary T.M. Vijay Bhaskar urged the authorities to declare Bengaluru as the permanent venue for Aero India, the Ministry of Defence maintained that a decision would be taken later.
At the valedictory function, which had representation from the Indian Air Force and Ministry of Defence besides Governor Vajubhai Vala, Mr. Bhaskar pointed out that Bengaluru had hosted aero show for 12 consecutive editions. “I hope Bengaluru will be declared as the permanent venue. I hope it will be the next venue,” he said.
Later, he told The Hindu that though there has been no specific information about a possible shifting of venue, his comments came in the light of Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy having written to the Centre to retain the show in Bengaluru. So far, he said, the State government has not received any kind of communication from the organisers on the issue.
However, a senior Defence Ministry official told reporters soon after the valedictory that “Bengaluru has not been declared as the next venue for the air show.” Indicating that the decision on the venue is open, the official said: “It [venue and dates] has not been decided. We have not come to that. I’m not sure about where it will be held next.”
Incidentally, the date and Bengaluru as the venue had been declared at the start of the previous editions barring the 2015 and 2017 ones, when speculations were rife over shifting the aero show to a new place. This edition held in Bengaluru also came under a cloud as the Union government actively considered Lucknow as a possible venue. Stating that a decision would be taken soon, the official said: “The government may announce the date and place soon. It could happen during the coming Defence Expo too. Ultimately, the decision would be made by the Centre,” he added.
Regarding the ease of conducting aero show in Bengaluru, he said: “It is a good base to hold the air show. Things get resolved since all infrastructure is available.”