Rajnath Singh calls upon defence start-ups and innovators to develop unique technologies to deal with future threats

Raksha Mantri  Rajnath Singh has asked start-ups and innovators to develop new and unique technologies to deal with future threats. Terming the private sector, individual innovators, start-ups and MSMEs as strong pillars of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ as envisioned by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Raksha Mantri exhorted them to ensure the uniqueness new defence technologies. 

Speaking at DefConnect in New Delhi yesterday, Raksha Mantri said there is a need to develop new technologies, with a focus on ensuring uniqueness. He said the Government, Armed Forces, private sector, individual innovators, start-ups, MSMEs and academia can together create a strong bond and move forward to achieve the shared aim of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, DefConnect 2.0 is a celebration of the growth of the Indian defense start-up ecosystem. He mentioned this is the culmination of the success of his ministry's



initiative Innovation for Defense Excellence (iDEX). Mr. Singh highlighted iDEX has so far assisted in developing and processing a number of nascent, and in-house technologies . Saying DefConnect 2.0, and iDEX are extremely important, Mr Singh emphasised that any new technology is very costly in the beginning, and its adoption is voluntary for any society.  

The Defence Minister said, recently, the Defense Acquisition Council has approved the purchase of 14 items worth 380 crore rupees from iDEX start-ups. iDEX has introduced more than 100 iDEX Winners to the market so far.

The Defense Ministry has also approved a new simplified, fast-track procedure for procurement from iDEX start-ups and MSMEs. As per the new procedure, the procurement cycle has been compressed into about 22 weeks.

The Defence Minister also launched Defense India Start-up Challenge, ie DISC-6