Indian Navy To Display Innovations By MSME, Startups At Swavlamban 2.0 Seminar

The Indian Navy will display a wide range of homegrown and niche technologies during its second edition of Naval Innovation and Indigenisation (NIIO) Seminar—'Swavlamban 2023' at the Bharat Mandapam on October 4–5.

The seminar will showcase 75 new technologies including ultra endurance swarm drones, fire fighting systems, blue-green lasers for underwater applications. The Navy has collaborated with new startups and MSMEs to develop these futuristic technologies as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

In the seminar, there will be dedicated sessions on innovation and aviation, including a significant Plenary Session. Topics covered will encompass discussions on the SPRINT initiative, procurement, policies, and certification. During this plenary session, the updated Indian Navy indigenization roadmap, 'Swavlamban 2.0,' will be unveiled alongside discussions on new industry challenges. Expectations are running high for various product launches and significant policy announcements that will impact all three Services.

The focus will be towards indigenization and armament, featuring an interactive session with industry stakeholders to delve deeper into the 'Swavlamban 2.0'. This outreach initiative aims to foster stronger partnerships within the industry. Furthermore, breakout sessions will cover topics such as medical innovations, and there will be active participation from Defense Attaches and diplomats representing over 50 Friendly nations, adding an international dimension to the event.

In the maiden edition of the seminar, held in July 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the 75 challenges for the startups/ MSMEs as a part of the 'SPRINT' initiative. The initiative was aimed at giving a boost to the usage of indigenous technology in the Navy.

SPRINT Initiative

SPRINT is a collaborative initiative being undertaken in conjunction with the Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO) and stands for Supporting Pole-Vaulting in R&D through Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), NIIO and Technology Development Acceleration Cell (TDAC). The initiative had received 1,106 proposals. Of the total proposals, 113 winners, under the DISC 7 SPRINT category (with grants up to INR 1.5 cr) and 5 winners in the DISC 7 SPRINT-PRIME category (grants up to INR 10 crore) were declared.

Conclusion of over 100 developmental agreements between iDEX and industry was achieved, with active engagement of the Indian Navy, iDEX and start-ups/ MSMEs.