Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said that India is entering a “golden era of defence innovation” driven by young entrepreneurs and start-ups, as he addressed the fourth edition of the Indian Navy’s Swavlamban seminar in New Delhi.
Singh said India must remain proactive and future-ready in a rapidly changing geopolitical environment. He credited innovators for helping the country move from being a defence importer to a technology exporter.
The minister called on the private sector to adopt a “profit-plus” approach that balances commercial gain with national duty and strategic responsibility. He urged private companies to increase their contribution to defence manufacturing to 50% or more in the coming years.
Singh highlighted the financial and strategic costs of dependence on imported defence equipment and stressed the need to build a strong domestic supply chain for maintenance, repair, overhaul, and spare parts. Strengthening local manufacturing, he said, would improve capability, reduce costs, and enhance reliability and autonomy.
He encouraged the private sector to identify emerging defence technologies and assured government support in addressing challenges. “India is changing, the defence sector is changing, geopolitics is changing. We too must change our thinking,” he said.
Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi said that Swavlamban has expanded significantly since its first edition, growing from 800 participants to 3,000 last year. The Navy accounts for 35% of the 565 iDEX challenges announced so far, he said.
Tripathi noted that technologies developed through iDEX have strengthened naval capabilities and opened procurement opportunities across the Army, Air Force, Coast Guard and Central Armed Police Forces.
The seminar featured an exhibition of innovations in AI, autonomous systems, communication technologies, quantum computing, stealth solutions and smart ordnance. Nearly 80 MSMEs and start-ups showcased prototypes and products developed for naval use.
Singh visited the exhibition and reviewed the technologies on display.
An MoU was signed between the Indian Navy, IIT Madras and Apollo Micro Systems to support indigenous research, development and production of advanced armament systems.
The Defence Minister launched the SARATHI app (System for Armament Review, Analysis, Tracking, Handling, and Indigenisation), developed by C-DAC Chennai. The app will be used as an integrated tool for managing the life cycle of naval ammunition.
The Navy also launched “Innovathon,” a hackathon for students, researchers and developers to find solutions for maritime operational challenges. Problem statements include swarm algorithms, scalable encrypted network traffic systems, and a satellite-aware maritime route intelligence tool.
The event included sessions with foreign Naval and Defence attachés and presentations by the Technology Development Acceleration Cell. Ten iDEX winners were felicitated, and several documents were released, including the Swavlamban 4.0 document and the Armament Indigenisation Compendium.
Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Defence Production Secretary Sanjeev Kumar and DRDO Chairman Dr. Samir V Kamat also attended the event.