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India gets good response at Idex

Indian Minister of State for Defence Production, Supplies and Parliamentary Affairs O Rajagopal said yesterday at IDEX 2003 that defence exports from India were poised to receive a boost following the pro-active approach adopted by the Minister of Defence George Fernandes.

Brahmos, that combines the names of the turbulent Indian river Brahmaputra and the serene Russian river Moskva, symbolises an Indo-Russian state joint venture. It is a supersonic cruise missile that can cover a range of 290km.

The missile was a subject of popular interest and several high-level officials, including Lt. Gen. Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chief of Staff of the UAE Armed Forces, visited the Brahmos stand, he said.

Rajagopal, who is scheduled to call on Shaikh Mohammed today, said that the agreement to produce Brahmos involved the joint design, development and marketing of the missile with funding from both India and Russia.

He said: "We have set our eyes on friendly countries in the Middle East and Far East, in our bid to boost export of defence goods and services."

He referred to the scenario in the past where the Government opted to wait for countries to come to it for business. But now specific targets have been set and evidence to the impetus is the size of the indian presence at the ongoing Idex, he remarked.