New Delhi
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh launched Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) Prime and sixth Defence India Start-up Challenge (DISC 6) during DefConnect 2.0 in New Delhi on April 22, 2022. The iDEX-Prime aims to support projects, requiring support beyond Rs 1.5 crore up to Rs 10 crore, to help ever-growing start-ups in the defence sector.The DISC 6 with 38 Problem Statements was also launched by the Raksha Mantri. Apart from the three Services and some Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) which have participated in earlier editions, DISC 6 witnesses the participation of newly-formed seven defence companies, Indian Coast Guard and organisations under Ministry of Home Affairs for the first time. The Problem Statements relate to Artificial Intelligence (AI), Advanced Imaging, Sensor Systems, Big Data Analytics and Autonomous Unmanned Systems and Secured Communication among others.The winners of DISC 5, Open Challenge (OC 2 and 3) were also felicitated and two sessions with stalwarts of the industry were organised during the event. In addition, a static exhibition of an array of start-ups supported by iDEX-Defence Innovation Organisation (iDEX-DIO) was displayed to all the attendees, with the aim to motivate budding entrepreneurs to take the leap.In his address, Shri Rajnath Singh described DefConnect 2.0 as a symbol of increasing technological prowess of the country and a celebration of the continuous growth of the Indian defense start-up ecosystem. It is indicative to the success of the iDEX initiative which has helped in the development of many new and indigenous technologies, he said.The Raksha Mantri congratulated the Department of Defence Production (DDP) for receiving the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration 2021 under the ‘Innovation (General) – Central’ category for the iDEX initiative. He lauded iDEX for providing an important platform for start-ups to showcase innovations and technological developments. “iDEX has provided an opportunity to our science and technology professionals to understand futuristic technologies such as AI, Augmented Reality, Block-chain and Space technologies. The start-up ecosystem has also been promoted and encouraged through order placement,” he stated.Shri Rajnath Singh appreciated the fact that iDEX has, so far, introduced more than 100 iDEX Winners to the market, thus providing direct & indirect employment to thousands of skilled and semi-skilled people. He hoped that lakhs of people will get employment with the introduction of iDEX winners to manufacturing enterprises. It is an important step towards improving the socio-economic condition of many people, he said.
