Aiming to incorporate the latest technologies in weapons for India’s armed forces, the country’s ministry of defense will fund over 250 defense startups in the next five years.
The Ministry of Defense plans to achieve at least 50 tangible innovations that can be inducted in the near future, and, under the Innovations for Defense Excellence (iDEX) initiative, it will fund these startups. iDEX will bring together innovators, the public and private sector industry, and the armed forces to find new technology solutions.
India’s minister for defense, Rajnath Singh, said that India can become a $10 trillion economy over the next 10 to 15 years if innovation talent is properly harnessed. He added that India needs to strengthen research and development in defense manufacturing, and suggested that the country must change course from being a net importer to a net innovator and exporter of defense technologies in the near future.
