Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC) IIT Kanpur has partnered with iDEX (Innovation for Defence Excellence) to scout and mentor entrepreneurs and MSMEs to create, deploy and commercialise technologies and products for the Indian military and defence PSUs. Under this partnership, SIIC IIT Kanpur will run programmes, such as accelerators, long-duration incubation, piloting and prototype investments, jointly with iDEX. The iDEX programme was launched by the Defence Innovation Organization (DIO) in an effort to attain self-reliance in the field of defence and defence production.
Prof Abhay Karandikar, Director, IIT Kanpur, said, “IIT Kanpur has been forging relentless collaborations with the defence sector, be it for academic collaboration, new innovation or drone-based initiatives. In today’s fast-moving world, we believe that multi-stakeholder collaboration is key and we have the vision to contribute to making India self-reliant across sectors. I believe this new partnership between SIIC IIT Kanpur and iDEX would leverage the institute’s dynamic innovation ecosystem and strength in aerospace engineering, material science engineering, electro-mechanical systems and design for true actualisation of the programme’s vision.”
The Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) framework was formulated and approved by the Ministry of Defence in order “to operationalise and institutionalise the effort to reach out and engage the smaller enterprises, start-ups and innovators, which have the competence, flexibility and adaptability to supply the Indian military with innovative and ingenious technological solutions.”
The core objectives of the iDEX scheme as listed by the Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence, are:
1. Facilitate rapid development of new, indigenised and innovative technologies for the Indian defence and aerospace sector, to meet needs for these sectors in shorter timelines
2. Create a culture of engagement with innovative start-ups, to encourage co-creation for defence and aerospace
3. Empower a culture of technology co-creation and co-innovation within the defence and aerospace sectors
4. Boost innovation among the start-ups and encourage them to be a part of the Indian defence and aerospace ecosystem
With these primary objectives of iDEX, SIIC IIT Kanpur and other incubators will help iDEX in working towards guiding start-ups and MSMEs in the product development segment of India’s defence sector and making India self-reliant.