Taking strides towards promoting indigenous innovation and fostering partnerships to tackle evolving security challenges, Innovations for Defence Excellence-Defence Innovation Organisation (iDEX-DIO) is set to host DefConnect 2024 at the Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi, on March 04, 2024. The event, graced by the presence of Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh, signifies a significant milestone in India’s defence innovation landscape.
DefConnect 2024 serves as a transformative platform, uniting key stakeholders including the Armed Forces, defence industry leaders, start-ups, academia, and policymakers. The objective is to foster impactful interactions, exhibit state-of-the-art technologies, and inspire cooperation, creativity, and enterprise within the realm of defence.
With a focus on fostering collaboration, DefConnect 2024 will witness a convergence of innovators and investors from India’s leading industries in the defence sector. The iDEX framework enables a co-development model where military personnel collaborate with innovators, serving as end users, nodals, and domain experts. This collaboration ensures seamless integration of advancements into existing platforms, leveraging the expertise and insights of end users.
Since its inception, iDEX has launched several rounds of Defence India Start-up Challenge (DISC) and Open Challenges (OC), receiving overwhelming response with over 9,000 applications from individual innovators and start-ups. Additionally, there will be a special panel discussion at the event focusing on the pivotal role of women as catalysts for transformation, scheduled in anticipation of International Women’s Day on March 08, 2024.
A highlight of DefConnect 2024 will be the showcase of cutting-edge technologies developed by iDEX winners, providing a unique opportunity for visitors to engage with start-ups and understand their innovative solutions. Launched by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in 2018, iDEX acts as a unified platform for stakeholders in the defence and aerospace sectors, fostering technology development and collaborations in this critical domain.
