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Promise of Budgetary Support For Defence Innovation

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Promise of Budgetary Support For Defence Innovation

The actual allocation of funds to DIO would depend on how much money the finance minister is able to allocate each year for this purpose

by Amit Cowshish

On June 13, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved budgetary support of Rs 498.8 crore for the Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO). This will enable DIO to provide funds to nearly 300 aspiring entrepreneurs and 20-odd Partner Incubators (PIs) to undertake R&D and innovation projects. The funds will be released by the Department of Defence Production (DDP) over the next five years.

Considering that the budgetary allocations are made annually in the federal budget, the approval given by Rajnath Singh can best be described as the indicative budget for the next five years. The actual allocation of funds to DIO would depend on how much money the finance minister is able to allocate each year for this purpose.

This five-year budget includes Rs 450 crore for funding the projects, Rs 29.6 crore for the PIs and Rs 19.18 crore for the DIO’s internal operations, including administrative and management cost and the expenditure on monitoring and evaluation of projects.

During the current financial year, DIO is expected to be allocated Rs 66.1 crore. It is now known whether the DDP already has sufficient funds from which this amount will be released, or it will now approach the Ministry of Finance for additional allocation.

Incorporated in 2018 under Section 8 of the Company Act, 2013, DIO is a not-for-profit organisation that manages Innovation for Defence Excellence (iDEX) scheme. The aim of this scheme is to create ‘an ecosystem to foster innovation and technology development in Defence and Aerospace by engaging Industries including MSMEs, start-ups, individual innovators, R&D institutes and academia and provide them grants/funding and other support to carry out R&D development which has good potential for future adoption for Indian defence and aerospace needs’.

This nascent organisation is managed by a Board of Directors, with Secretary (DDP) as the Chairman, Additional Secretary as the Chief Executive Officer, and CMDs of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), and the MD of Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), as members.

The DIOs’ activities have so far been largely confined to organising Defence India Start-up Challenge, or DISC, though currently it also seems to be running a 45-day awareness programme since June 1 for the aspiring innovators.

The iDEX challenge is open to start-ups, MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises), R&D institutions, academia, and individual innovators. They are required to work on the problem statements prepared by the armed forces, Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) -now facing the prospect of being broken up into seven corporations- and by other agencies which have signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with the DIO.

Milestone-related financial assistance in the form of grant, equity, debt, and other analogous arrangements is provided to the maximum limit of Rs 1.5 crore to entities shortlisted for taking up the challenge and, following an elaborate process of assessment and evaluation, the winners are announced by the DIO.

Four challenges have been conducted so far under the iDEX framework. In addition, at least one challenge seems to have been conducted exclusively for the armed forces personnel.

The iDEX scheme also envisages funding the PIs for undertaking similar activities to the extent of Rs 40 lakh if the program is deemed worthwhile. It, however, remains unclear if any partner has benefitted from this provision so far.

As for the outcome of the past three years that DIO has been in existence, the picture is hazy, as the information available on the iDEX website is too sketchy, disorganised, and difficult to collate. However, a rough count shows that so far at least 72 individual innovators, small companies, military personnel and one institution -IIT Palakkad- have won 30-odd challenges posed by the armed forces, Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL), BEL and HAL.

A wide range of prototypes and technologies have been successfully developed by the winners. The list includes Individual Protection System, See-through Armour, Secure Hardware Encryption Device, Unmanned Surface/Underwater Vehicles, Computer Generated Targets for Virtual Training, 4-G tactical Area Network, Autonomous Underwater Swarm Drones, AI based Satellite Image Analysis, Foliage Penetration Radar, and Remote Real Time In-Flight Health Monitoring of Aircrew.

Credit must be given where it is due. The fact that the four rounds of challenges held so far have elicited good response and quite a few prototypes and technologies have been developed by a cross-section of innovators is both impressive and heartening. However, the mystery surrounding the scheme endures, not least because of the incomprehensibility and disjointedness of the information posted there. Nevertheless, three issues stand out.

First, though many prototypes and technologies have been developed, this cannot be an end in itself. It is not known how many of these have been, or are being, integrated with the in-service, under development or under production equipment, platforms, and weapon systems. This is the only yardstick that can be used to assess the ultimate utility of the solutions developed by the innovators.

Second, the commercial viability of developing the solutions, which may also require the innovators to partially fund the projects themselves, would depend on their ability to sell the product. No information is available on the DIO website about the solutions developed by the innovators being bought by the Indian industry or the MoD, or their export by the innovators.

Third, the iDEX scheme seems to run in parallel with the Technology Development Fund (TDF) managed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to promote self-reliance in technology development. It would be disingenuous to argue that there is a nuanced difference between the objectives of both these schemes.

Even if it is conceded for argument’s sake that these schemes serve somewhat different purposes, there is no denying that a synergised approach to innovation and R&D can produce better results. Turf war between DDP and DRDO seems to have trumped the need for such synergy.

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INS Arihant’s Nuke-Capable K-4 Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile ‘Ready To Roll’

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INS Arihant’s Nuke-Capable K-4 Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile ‘Ready To Roll’


NEW DELHI: India tested its nuclear capable K-4 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), designed to have a strike range of 3,500 km, for the second time in six days on Friday. The missile test, as the one conducted on January 19, was undertaken from an undersea platform in the shape of a submersible pontoon off the coast of Andhra Pradesh according to a report by Rajat Pandit of TOI.

The solid-fuelled K-4 missile is being developed by DRDO to arm the country’s nuclear-powered submarines in the shape of INS Arihant and its under-development sister vessels. INS Arihant, which became fully operational in November 2018 to complete India’s nuclear triad, is currently armed with the much shorter K-15 missiles with a 750 km range.

“The K-4 is now virtually ready for its serial production to kick-off. The two tests have demonstrated its capability to emerge straight from underwater and undertake its parabolic trajectory,” said a source.

India has the land-based Agni missiles, with the over 5,000-km Agni-V inter-continental ballistic missile now in the process of being inducted, and fighter jets jury-rigged to deliver nuclear weapons. But INS Arihant gives the country’s deterrence posture much more credibility because nuclear-powered submarines armed with nuclear-tipped missiles are considered the most secure, survivable and potent platforms for retaliatory strikes.

Once the K-4 missiles are inducted, they will help India narrow the gap with countries like the US, Russia and China, which have over 5,000-km range SLBMs. The K-4 missiles are to be followed by the K-5 and K-6 missiles in the 5,000-6,000 km range class.

The 6,000-ton INS Arihant, which is propelled by an 83 MW pressurised light-water reactor at its core, in turn, is to be followed by INS Arighat, which was launched in 2017. The next generation of nuclear submarines, currently called S-4 and S-4*, will be much larger in size.





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After Upgradation, Sukhoi Su-30MKI Indigenisation To Reach 78%

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After Upgradation, Sukhoi Su-30MKI Indigenisation To Reach 78%


India has received clearance to upgrade 84 Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jets, which will result in 78% indigenization after the upgrade

In a significant step towards bolstering its military might with indigenously developed technology, India is poised to witness its Russian-origin Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jets evolve into a domestic platform. Speaking at a recent lecture.

The upgrade program is being led by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in partnership with the Indian Air Force and other partners. The upgrade is expected to cost US$7.5 billion.

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) granted Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for the upgrade. The upgrade is part of India’s efforts to improve the capabilities of its primary fighter aircraft, it refers to as the “Super Sukhoi”.

This initiative is a part of a larger effort by the Indian Air Force to modernize its ageing fleet. Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari asserted the critical role of an offensive air force as demonstrated in current global conflicts and emphasized India’s move towards an indigenized arsenal. To this end, the IAF has been proactive, from upgrading its Mirage 2000 to enhancing its MiG-29 fleet.

In summary, the IAF’s commitment to updating their combat forces with the latest technology, including shifting to fifth-generation fighter jets, ensures operational preparedness and a strong deterrence capability. The gradual indigenization of its air fleet marks a pivotal shift in India’s defence landscape, reducing dependency on foreign imports and fostering technological sovereignty.





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Akash Weapon System Exports For The Armenian Armed Forces Gathers Pace

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Akash Weapon System Exports For The Armenian Armed Forces Gathers Pace


According to unconfirmed reports, Armenia is a top contender for an export order for Akash SAM system manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL).

While there is no official confirmation because of the sensitivities involved, documents suggest that the order for the same has already been placed the report further added.
There are nine countries, in turn, which have shown interest in the indigenously-developed Akash missile systems, which can intercept hostile aircraft, helicopters, drones and subsonic cruise missiles at a range of 25-km. They are Kenya, Philippines, Indonesia, UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Vietnam and Algeria reported TOI.

The Akash export version will also be slightly different from the one inducted by the armed forces. The 100-km range air-to-air Astra missiles, now entering production after successful trials from Sukhoi-30MKI fighters, also have “good export potential”, said sources.

Akash is a “tried, tested and successfully inducted systems”. Indian armed forces have ordered Akash systems worth Rs 24,000 crore over the years, and MoD inked a contract in Mar 2023 of over Rs 9,100 crores for improved Akash Weapon System

BDL is a government enterprise under the Ministry of Defence that was established in 1970. BDL manufactures surface-to-air missiles and delivers them to the Indian Army. BDL also offers its products for export.

Akash Weapon System

The AWS is a Short Range Surface to Air Missile (SRSAM) Air Defence System, indigenously designed and developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). In order to meet aerial threats, two additional Regiments of AWS with Upgradation are being procured for Indian Army for the Northern borders. Improved AWS has Seeker Technology, Reduced Foot Print, 360° Engagement Capability and improved environmental parameters.

The project will give a boost to the Indian missile manufacturing industry in particular and the indigenous defence manufacturing ecosystem as a whole. The project has overall indigenous content of 82% which will be increased to 93% by 2026-27.

The induction of the improved AWS into the Indian Army will increase India’s self-reliance in Short Range Missile capability. This project will play a role in boosting the overall economy by avoiding outgo of precious foreign exchange to other countries, increasing employment avenues in India and encouraging Indian MSMEs through components manufacturing. Around 60% of the project cost will be awarded to the private industry, including MSMEs, in maintaining the supply chain of the weapon system, thereby creating large scale of direct and indirect employment.





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