Responding to questions, Sitharaman did not rule out a change of venue but did not commit to keeping the air show in Bangalore

BANGALORE: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said that the venue for the next edition of Aero India had not been finalised yet and that many places from across the country had requested the Ministry of Defence to consider them as a venue for the hugely popular air show which has been held in Bangalore since 1996.

The New Indian Express had recently reported that the Ministry of Defence was considering moving the air show to the Bakshi Ka Talab air force base in Lucknow. Responding to questions on Saturday, Sitharaman did not rule out a change of venue but did not commit to keeping the air show in Bangalore.

Taking the example of Defence Expo, which was held ten times in New Delhi before being shifted to Goa and recently to Tamil Nadu, Sitharaman said, "No final call has been made yet. A date will be announced soon."

Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, also present at the interaction, said that the State Government had requested MoD to continue Aero India in Bangalore.