Govt Engages Startups, MSMEs on Defence and Emerging Technologies

Senior officials of Department of Defence Production, under the chairmanship of Secretary (DP) Shri Sanjeev Kumar, have held deliberations with bigwigs from over 50 start-ups and MSMEs on understanding the key challenges affecting these ventures, identifying opportunities and supporting them in accelerating innovation. The brainstorming sessions were held at South Block in New Delhi on March 24 & 25, 2025.

Most of the startups and MSMEs, which attended the sessions, are engaged with Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX). Insightful deliberations across critical & emerging technology domains such as Space Technologies, Quantum Technologies, Electronic Warfare, Drones, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Radar Technologies, Cyber Security, and Advanced Materials helped in understanding their potential applications in both civil and defence sectors.

Thanking the participants for their valuable insights, Secretary (Defence Production) stated that sessions would help the Ministry in understanding the perspective of the industry, particularly new technology start-ups. It would help in fine-tuning the policies & procedures, leading to wider participation of start-ups working in deep tech, he added.