Sanjha Morcha

Ministry of Defence turns to high-tech startups

Ministry of Defence turns to high-tech startups

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

New Delhi, August 19

The next round of challenge seeking startups to join the technology bandwagon in military equipment was launched today. The industry has been asked to address 35 separate technology demands of the armed forces and also the Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs).

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is looking at areas such as situational awareness, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, aircraft-trainer, non-lethal devices, 5G network, under-water domain awareness, drone swarms and data capturing.

The technology being sought is designed to ensure military advantage in the foreseeable future. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched the scheme today it. Called the Defence India Startup Challenge, this is the fifth round of the challenge and is aimed to enrich Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX). The iDEX is a platform for different stakeholders in the defence and aerospace sectors, essentially acting as an umbrella organisation to oversee technology development and potential collaborations in the specific field.

iDEX uses the strong science technology and research talent base of the country. — TNS