Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) & Mission DefSpace

NEWS: Ministry of Defence signs 250th contract under ‘Innovations for Defence Excellence’

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/ministry-of-defence-signs-250th-contract-under-innovations-for-defence-excellence/article66854098.ece

• Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) reached a milestone with the signing of its 250th contract – the first one under Mission DefSpace – and 100th SPRINT (Navy) contract in New Delhi in May 2023.

Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX)

• Background: iDEX is the flagship initiative of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) which was launched by the Prime Minister in 2018.
• Objective: It aims to engage start-ups to contribute to the defence sector and develop defence and aerospace setup in the country.
• Implementing agency: iDEX is being implemented by Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO), established under the Department of Defence Production, MoD.

 Mission DefSpace

• Background: Mission DefSpace was launched by the Prime Minister during DefExpo at Gandhinagar in October, 2022.
• Objectives: It aims to nurture the Indian Private Space industry through challenges addressing every stage of a space mission – from mission planning to satellite data analytics.
• Challenges: It was launched with 75 Defence Space Challenges relevant to the end users. The challenges are classified into five buckets viz. Launch System, Satellite System, Communication & Payload System, Ground System and Software System, provide a holistic 360* overview of space.
• Eligibility: Private Industries, including Start-ups, MSMEs and Individual Innovators, are eligible to apply. 

Sprint

• The 100th SPRINT (Navy) contract was exchanged for the development of a lightweight ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) based communication system for satellite communication. 
• Background: Under the ‘SPRINT’ initiative, a total of 75 Challenge statements for the Indian industry were unveiled by PM Modi during the Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) seminar ‘Swavlamban’ In July 2022. 
• Target: The initiative aims at inducting at least 75 technologies/products into the Indian Navy by August 2023 as part of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’.

Practice Questions for Prelims

Consider the following statements regarding Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) :
1. iDEX is the flagship initiative of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) which was launched by the Prime Minister in 2018.
2. It aims to engage start-ups to contribute to the defence sector and develop defence and aerospace setup in the country.
3. iDEX is being implemented by Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO), established under the Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence.
Which of the statements given above is / are correct :
a) 1 and 2 only
b) 1 and 3 only
c) 2 and 3 only
d) All of the above

Ans. d)

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