Gandhinagar, Oct 18 (IANS): The Defence Expo 2022 will be the first-ever edition exclusively for Indian companies, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on the eve of the expo on Monday.

Addressing the curtain raiser press conference in Gandhinagar, Singh said that as many as 47 new products will be launched in during the expo, while some 349 Memorandum of Understanding will be signed.

Apart from this, Transfer of Technology (TOT) contract will be signed for 18 technologies, and some 37 major announcements will take place during the five-day long expo.

Singh asserted that the expo's highlight will be exclusivity for Indian companies, a humble effort to promote 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'.

The inaugural ceremony and seminars will be held here at Mahatma Mandir Convention and Exhibition Centre while the exhibition will be at Helipad Exhibition Centre, live demonstrations at Sabarmati River Front and ship visits for public will be at Porbandar.

The first three days (October 18 to 20) will be business days, while the last two days (October 21 & 22) have been reserved for public.

Earlier in the day, speaking at the convocation function of the Rashtriya Raksha University, the Defence Minister said, "There is now a blurred line between internal and external security threats as the hybrid warfare has almost eliminated the distinction."

According to Singh, the situation has now become complicated as latest technological advancements have expanded the nature of threats to national security.

He also released the Gujarati edition of the book 'Modi@20: Dreams Meet Delivery' in Gandhinagar. Singh said that after Mahatma Gandhi, Narendra Modi has been "the only leader who has known the pulse of the nation while communicating directly with people of the country".