Rajnath launches Defence India Startup Challenge 5.0

iDEX provides strong foundation for innovation, R&D to the industry, he says

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday launched the 5th edition of the Defence India Start-up Challenge (DISC) under Innovations for Defence Excellence - Defence Innovation Organisation (iDEX-DIO) meant to achieve self-reliance and foster innovation and technology development in the defence and aerospace sectors. “Thirty-five problem statements – 13 from the Services and 22 from Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) – were unveiled under DISC 5.0. These are in areas such as situational awareness, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, aircraft-trainer, non-lethal devices, 5G network, underwater domain awareness, Drone SWARMS and data capturing,” a Defence Ministry statement said. Speaking at the virtual launch, Mr. Singh said the iDEX provided a strong foundation for innovation, Research and Development (R&D) to the industry. “Initiatives like iDEX form a link between our youth, academia, R&D, start-ups and the armed forces,” he pointed out.