Pramesh S Jain
Manthan 2023- The Annual Defence Innovation Event will be the flagship technology showcase event at the Aeroindia
2023.
The Manthan platform will bring the leading Innovators, Startups,MSMEs,Incubators,Academia and Investors from Defence & Aerospace eco-system under one roof .
Manthan is being organised by the iDEX and will be held on 15th February 2023 during Aero India.
IDEX(Innovations for Defence Excellence) is the flagship scheme of Ministry of Defence,Govt of India launched by the Hon’ble PM in 2018.
The objective of the scheme is to create an eco-system to foster innovation and technology development in Defence and Aerospace by engaging with startups,individual innovators,MSMEs,incubators,academia etc.
Further,iDEX provides them grants/funding and other support to carry out R&D which has good potential for future adoption for Indian defence and aerospace needs.
iDEX has emerged as a game changer in the defence sector and is PM awardee for Innovation.
Manthan 2023 will have many firsts,including launch of challenges on Cyber Security, establishment of iDEX Investor Hub,MoUs with investors etc.
Manthan 2023 will provide an overview on the future vision/ next initiatives of iDEX to galvanise the startup eco-system to foster innovation and technology development in the Defence sector.
RM,top echelons of MoD& other Ministries,Service Chiefs ,MHA, Industry captains,innovators,defence startups,leading Incubators,domain experts,leading Investors,foreign dignitaries etc. will be at the event at Aero India 2023.
Some of the highlights of the Manthan Event include:-
Launch of the next edition of iDEX challenges/Defence India Startup Challenges (DISC9) on Cyber Security by the Hon’ble RM.
Technology showcase by iDEX start-ups focussing on futuristic technology domains like Autonomous Systems, Advanced Sensors, Space Technology and Industry4.0.
Launch of iDEX Investor Hub, Innovate for Defence(i4d) Internship Etc,Felicitation of new iDEX winners
Signing of MoUs with Financial Institutions,Marquee Investors Etc
Panel Discussions the medon ‘Next-Generation Warfare: Cyber, Space, and Beyond’ and on ‘Harnessing Startup Ecosystem for Technology leadership’ with panellists including top technocrats, innovators, industry experts, and policymakers
Investor Session-Live pitching session by select iDEX start-ups.
Till date, iDEX has launched eight rounds of Defence India Startup Challenges (DISC)and six rounds of Open Challenges and received more than 6850 applications from the innovators.
Currently, iDEX has contracted currently more than 190 startups/ MSMEs and is funding and mentoring them to provide cutting edge solutions to the Armed Forces. iDEX today sources challenges from almost 23 establishments and connects with startup ecosystem through its 19 Partner Incubators located pan India. iDEX is now featured as a procurement avenue under the Defence Acquisition Procedure.
Some of the frontier technologies on which iDEX startups are currently working include :-
AI / VR Sensor Technology,Drones/Anti-Drones,Domain Awareness,Satellite Imagery Unmanned Technologies,Individual Protection System,
Remotely Operated Vehicles,Simulation
Stealth Technologies, Autonomous & Smart Loitering Munitions Communication,Secure Data Encryption systems,AI Logistics & Monitoring Systems, Predictive Maintenance.
