India is among a handful of countries in the world with indigenous capabilities in the defence fields such as multi-level strategic deterrence, ballistic missile defence, nuclear powered submarines, main battle tank, stealth destroyers, aircraft carriers and 4th generation fighter aircraft. With the changes in government policies on defence acquisition and Make in India campaign, considerable impetus is being given to indigenisation in the defence sector. 

The exhibition would be showcasing India's capabilities in Land, Naval and Security Systems as well as its emergence as an attractive destination for investment in Defence Sector. The event provides a platform for forging alliances and joint ventures in the defence industry. The event also provides an excellent opportunity to the Indian Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), Private Sector and other defence related industries to demonstrate their capability to design, develop and deliver a wide range of military and civil products/services. 

As a clear indicator of India’s growing prominence and stature internationally; this year’s exhibition will be the largest Defexpo held till to date. In all, over 1000 companies, both foreign and Indian, are taking part in the exhibition this year, which is over one and a half times in number of participants in Defexpo 2014. Remarkably, with a total of 510 companies, participation by Indian companies has doubled since 2014 which saw a participation by 256 Companies. A total number of 490 foreign companies are participating this year against 368 in Defexpo 2014. 

Around 950 delegations against 511 in 2014 are expected to visit the exhibition this year providing great synergy in business to business (B2B) activities during the short span of 4 days. The exhibition will thus provide an excellent platform to enhance growth in the sector in the coming years. 204 official delegations from 44 countries and around 750 non official business delegations are attending the show. 

The net area sold during this edition is 40725 square meters against 27,515 Square Meters in 2014. The gross area of exhibition has increased over three folds to 150,000 square meters against 45,000 Square Meters in 2014. 

On the sidelines of the exhibition, Seminars will provide a platform to showcase developments and opportunities in the defence sector. The topics of Seminars being conducted on 29 and 30 March are advances in shipbuilding technology, Make in India for defence sector, India – Korea Defence Cooperation, Modernisation Programme of Indian Army and Challenges and opportunities of Defence Offset. 

47 countries from different continents will be taking part in the exhibition against 30 countries which participated in the last edition of Defexpo. These are Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovak Republic, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, UK, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates and United States of America. 

The strong tourism and hotel industry of Goa allows the exhibition to expand to the scale as it has done this year. In turn, the exhibition will also provide an enhanced income to the local economy in terms of hotel bookings, taxi services and visits to tourist spots. Care is being taken to preserve the ecology of the site.