THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala-based startups have not fully tapped into the abundant opportunities presented by the defence and aerospace sectors, despite the significant surge in possibilities following the initiation of the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiatives, panelists said during a session at Huddle Global 2023.
Sanjeev Nair, CEO of Technopark, pointed out that local startups in Kerala have not capitalised on the opportunities provided by the iDEX Scheme. Launched by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), the iDEX Scheme aims to encourage, support, and integrate innovative solutions within the critical defence sector.
As a flagship initiative of the MOD, iDEX is funded and managed by the Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO) to establish an ecosystem fostering innovation and technology development in defence and aerospace, involving various stakeholders such as MSMEs, startups, individual innovators, R&D institutes, and academia.”The scheme is backed by grants and various other supports. However, the number of Kerala startups taking advantage of this flagship project is very low,” Nair said.
In light of India’s proactive pursuit of self-reliance in critical domains, Group Captain Saurabh Shiv of the Indian Air Force (IAF) encouraged startups to capitalise on the entire ecosystem created to acquire innovative solutions and technologies in the defence sector. He said, “IAF is actively seeking indigenously developed solutions to enhance self-reliance and capacity. Challenges and funding are available. The ball is in your court. Please rise up,” urging budding companies to explore opportunities in the defence sector.
Rajaguru Nathan K, Director of Astromedia Space Pvt Ltd, shared his company’s journey with the iDEX scheme, starting as a space-medicine startup.
In a parallel discussion on “Corporate Innovation and Scaling up with Startups,” participants emphasised that corporate entities are willing to engage with dedicated and hardworking startups that align with their business requirements. The consensus was that startups seeking corporate support and collaboration to scale up should thoroughly understand the problems they are addressing and demonstrate how their solutions alleviate customer pain points.
Panelists, sharing their experiences, insights, and perspectives, highlighted that in today’s world, the physical location of a startup is less relevant as long as their solutions meet the demands of businesses.
The event, attended by around 1,500 delegates, showcased cutting-edge products from emerging sectors like robotics, AI, Machine Learning, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, life sciences, space tech, Blockchain, IoT, e-governance, fintech, health tech, agritech, edutech, and SaaS from across the country.
IDEX’S POTENTIAL