Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will on Monday inaugurate DefConnect 2024 being organised by the Innovations for Defence Excellence-Defence Innovation Organisation (iDEX-DIO) under the aegis of the Department of Defence Production to promote indigenous innovation and facilitate partnerships to address evolving security challenges.

The event will be held at Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi. DefConnect 2024 represents a significant milestone in the country’s defence innovation landscape, bringing together key stakeholders, including the Armed Forces, defence industry leaders, start-ups, academia, and policymakers.

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The event aims to facilitate meaningful engagements, showcase cutting-edge technologies and is poised to be a transformative platform for fostering collaboration, innovation, and entrepreneurship in the defence sector. The event will attract a large number of innovators and investors from India’s leading industries in the defence sector.

The iDEX framework allows military personnel to work with innovators in a co-development model. They serve as end users, nodals and domain experts. This collaboration helps guide innovation and smoothly integrate advancements into existing platforms by leveraging the expertise and insights of the end user.

Till date, iDEX has launched 10 rounds of Defence India Start-up Challenge (DISC) and 11 rounds of Open Challenges (OC), receiving more than 9,000 applications from individual innovators and start-ups against challenges from the Tri-Services, Defence Space Agency, Defence Public Sector Undertakings, Indian Coast Guard, Border Roads Organisation and other agencies.

The event will also witness an All-Women Panel Discussion on ‘Women as Drivers of Change’ ahead of International Women’s Day on 8 March, 2024.

The showcase of cutting-edge technologies developed by iDEX winners is going to be the key attraction for visitors. It will offer a unique opportunity to meet iDEX start-ups and understand their innovative technologies.

The iDEX, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018, essentially provides a unified platform for various stakeholders in the defence and aerospace sectors. It acts like an umbrella organisation to oversee technology development and potential collaborations in this specific field.