The Indian Navy's Naval Innovation and Indigenisation (NIIO) Seminar, 'Swavlamban 2023, is set to take place on October 4th and 5th, 2023. The Hon'ble Prime Minister unveiled the 75 challenges for start-ups and MSMEs as part of the 'SPRINT' program at the first edition of the seminar, held in July 2022. The 'SPRINT Challenges aim to increase the use of indigenous technology in the Indian Navy, and the Navy has pledged to create at least 75 technologies and products as part of the 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav'.
SPRINT, which stands for Supporting Pole-Vaulting in R&D via Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), NIIO, and Technology Development Acceleration Cell (TDAC), is a joint endeavor being done in collaboration with the Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO). With 1106 suggestions, our campaign has garnered an enormous response.
Following a thorough evaluation, 113 winners in the DISC 7 SPRINT category (with grants up to 1.5 cr) and 5 winners in the DISC 7 SPRINT-PRIME category (with awards up to 10 cr) were proclaimed, and all winners are working on prototype development. Over 100 development agreements were signed between iDEX and industry, including active participation from the Indian Navy, iDEX, start-ups, and MSMEs.
Across the spectrum, niche technologies such as blue-green lasers for underwater applications, autonomous weaponized swarms and underwater swarm drones, multiple firefighting aids, the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) for various applications, and the development of an ultra-endurance small drone for maritime missions are being advanced.
It is planned to display these 75 prototypes and a live demo of a few promising innovations during "Swavlamban 2023," which will take place on October 4th and 5th in New Delhi.