In a significant stride towards promoting indigenous innovation and fostering collaborations to address evolving security challenges, Innovations for Defence Excellence-Defence Innovation Organisation (iDEX-DIO), under the Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence, is hosting DefConnect 2024 at Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi on March 04, 2024. The inauguration will be conducted by Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh.
DefConnect 2024 marks a noteworthy milestone in the country’s defense innovation landscape, bringing together key stakeholders, including the Armed Forces, defense industry leaders, start-ups, academia, and policymakers. The event aims to facilitate meaningful engagements, showcase cutting-edge technologies, and serve as a transformative platform for fostering collaboration, innovation, and entrepreneurship in the defense sector. Innovators and investors from India’s leading defense industries are expected to participate in the event.
The iDEX framework allows military personnel to collaborate with innovators in a co-development model, serving as end-users, nodals, and domain experts. This collaboration ensures that innovation aligns with the needs of end-users and can be smoothly integrated into existing platforms.
To date, iDEX has launched 10 rounds of Defence India Start-up Challenge (DISC) and 11 rounds of Open Challenges (OC), receiving over 9,000 applications from individual innovators and start-ups. Challenges have been presented by the Tri-Services, Defence Space Agency, Defence Public Sector Undertakings, Indian Coast Guard, Border Roads Organisation, and other agencies. The event will feature an All-Women Panel Discussion on ‘Women as Drivers of Change’ ahead of International Women’s Day on March 08, 2024.
The highlight of the event will be the showcase of cutting-edge technologies developed by iDEX winners, offering a unique opportunity for visitors to meet iDEX start-ups and understand their innovative technologies.
iDEX, launched by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in 2018, provides a unified platform for various stakeholders in the defense and aerospace sectors, acting as an umbrella organization to oversee technology development and potential collaborations in this specific field.
