Ali Hasan
If you ever had an idea for a startup and lacked funding, show your idea to the Indian army as it has decided to consider proposals from the general public and invest in an idea if it finds it feasible.
So far a total of 89 startups have pitched their ideas to the Indian army. This is being done to give a major push to support Atmanirbharta and to promote an innovation ecosystem, the Indian Army, in collaboration with the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM), conducted an outreach webinar for startups in emerging technologies.
89 startups pitched their indigenously developed innovations, ideas and proposals to Indian Army through virtual presentations in webinar format from 17 to 28 Dec 2020.
The proposals were focused on various fields such as:-
- Drones,
- Counter Drones,
- Robotics,
- Autonomous Systems,
- Artificial Intelligence (AI),
- Quantum computing,
- Blockchain technology,
- 3D printing,
- Nanotechnology and
- Medical applications
The webinars, organised by the Army Design Bureau (ADB), received a massive response where 13 proposals were shortlisted for further examination based on their viability and applicability for the Indian Army. Prospective users and domain specialists from Army Headquarters and Army Training Command attended the event.
Speaking on the occasion, the Deputy Chief of Indian Army, Lt Gen SS Hasabnis, underlined the importance of self-reliance in the defence sector and called upon the defence industry, particularly the startups to invest in emerging and niche technologies.
The Deputy Chief also assured the startups that the Indian Army will assist and handhold them in co-developing innovations and technologies which can enhance the operational capabilities of the Army.
Earlier this month, Defence Ministry’s Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved proposals to procure equipment worth Rs.27,000 Crores from domestic industry in order boost its “Make in India” programme initiative.
We hope our army will get stronger with each passing day.
