NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday underscored the significance of innovation in defence to deal with the metamorphosing unconventional warfare. Rajnath Singh termed the adoption of unconventional ideas, not yet known to the world, as the only way to progress in unconventional warfare. He was addressing scientists, industry leaders, academia, start-ups, MSMEs and young entrepreneurs during Twaral, a DRDO-Industry Workshop on Defence Technology Acceleration organised at DRDO Bhawan in New Delhi on Friday. On the occasion, not only technology developed under the Technology Development Fund (TDF) was handed over to the users, but challenges in finding solutions in the defence sector were also launched. Sharing insights on the transformation of the defence sector in the recent past, the Defence Minister stated that, today, technology has transformed conventional warfare into unconventional warfare. “New dimensions have been added to modern-day warfare such as drones, cyber warfare, bio-weapons and space defence. In this transformative phase, R&D in defence will make the defence sector stronger. It is heartening to witness our scientists, industrialists, academia, start-ups, MSMEs and young entrepreneurs working together in this endeavour. It is time for the private sector to take the lead as it has the ability to absorb rapid changes and create new innovations,” he said. The Defence Minister reiterated the government’s commitment to make the defence sector more innovative and technology-oriented. Highlighting the consistent efforts being made by DRDO to strengthen the R&D environment and promote the scientific temperament, he said, “Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme is providing up to 90% of the total project cost as grant support to eligible industries. The total support is up to Rs 50 crore, a good amount for any MSME and start-up to invest in defence R&D. Since its launch six years ago, 79 projects have been sanctioned, of which, technology has successfully been developed in 18 projects.” As part of the event, Rajnath Singh launched ‘Dare to Dream 5.0’ to encourage the next generation of innovators & start-ups to come forward with transformative ideas for defence applications. The fifth edition of DRDO’s innovation contest aims to generate cutting-edge solutions for India to progress further in its pursuit to achieve ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defence technologies.
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