New Delhi / Bengaluru, NFAPost: The stage is set for an exclusive outreach session at 10 am on Sunday on the newly launched Indian Army ADITI 4.0 and DISC 14 Challenges, organised by the Ministry of Defence’s Department of Defence Production (DDP) monitored scheme iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence).
According to a Defence Ministry official, the March 22nd virtual session focuses on 6 areas where startups / MSMEs and innovators, who have the competence, flexibility and adaptability, can develop Def-Tech solutions and supply the Indian military with innovative and indigenous technological solutions.
“The session is focused on areas like cognitive electronic warfare systems; 155 terminally guided munitions, development of smart ammunition and programming systems for the existing 40mm L/70 gun of the Indian Army; humanoid for combat / humanoid automatic system; man-portable ELINT system with ESM capabilities; and an integrated drone management system for monitoring,” said the Defence Ministry official.
According to Arvian Research, the Department of Defence Production (DDP) had rolled out the Scheme for iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence) to reach out and engage with the startups/MSMEs and innovators, who have the competence, flexibility and adaptability to develop Def-Tech solutions and supply the Indian military with innovative and indigenous technological solutions.
“The Ministry of Defence launched the 14th edition of the Defence India Start-up Challenge (DISC-14) and the 4th edition of ADITI challenges. As an initial outcome of the iDEX Scheme, a total of 13 procurement contracts between the Armed Forces and iDEX winners have been inked with a cumulative worth of more than Rs 280 Crore,” states Arvian Research.
Commenting on iDEX, SIDM’s Karnataka Chapter Past Chairman Dr. Naresh Palta said that since the launch of iDEX during DefExpo 2018 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, its impact has immensely contributed to strengthening the Indian defence industry ecosysem. .
“ADITI 4.0 and DISC 14 Challenges, along with the iDEX initiative named SPARK (The Support for Prototype and Research Kickstart) in the defence framework, offer financial support in the form of innovation grants. However, there are financial challenges in the development of critical and advanced technologies in the private sector which require high capital investment over prolonged period. It should be addressed with the government support on priority,” said SIDM’s Karnataka Chapter Past Chairman Dr Naresh Palta.
Since the globe is going through the changing dynamics of modern warfare, the Indian Defence Ministry and industry stakeholders have an imperative to develop technologies which are advanced, critical, and strategic from the perspective of future warfare.
Talking to TheNFAPost, Omnipresent Robotics Founder and CEO Dr Akash Sinha said as India is emerging as a global power in Defence, there is a need to support technologies which are futuristic as well as critical for the Indian Armed Forces.
“iDEX scheme ADITI, being a new initiative, is an endeavour by the DDP to support the development and acceleration of innovation in critical and strategic technologies, which are in the nascent stage of research and development in the country. ADITI had a budgetary support of Rs 750 Crore for the period from FY 2023-2024 to FY 2025-2026. Now startups should take on global challenges and make India competitive in defence manufacturing,” said Omnipresent Robotics Founder and CEO Dr Akash Sinha.
(With inputs from TheNFAPost Editor-in-Chief N V Vijayakumar)
