The country's largest and Maharashtra's first 'Maharashtra MSME Defense Expo' was inaugurated by Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday evening at International Exhibition and Convention Center at Moshi near Pune. Mr. Fadnavis asserted that a new policy will be formulated to promote the defence industry in Maharashtra and efforts will be made to develop micro, small and medium enterprises in this sector.<br />'' <br />''<span style="color: #222222;">Maharashtra has formulated an aerospace and defence policy in 2017 and a fund of 1000 crores has been created to promote this sector. 600 MSMEs have been created out of it. Pune is an important center in terms of India's strategic power and a good system of defence production has been created in Pune in the last several years. The maintenance command of the country's air force, the southern command of the army, are located here. This exhibition has been organized for the next three days with the aim that under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Yojana, the latest weapons required for the defence forces should be manufactured in the country and at the same time some other small and large industries near Pune should participate in this production process. More than 1,200 small companies producing arms as well as other materials related to the defence sector will present their capabilities in the Expo. Along with them, weapons like indigenously made tanks and other protective vehicles, missiles, air force helicopters, rocket launchers, ammunition are also going to be displayed in this exhibition. Lectures and seminars by defence experts have also been organized. 80,000 citizens registered on the first day of the exhibition, which shows that the youth is interested in its defence credentials.</span><br />