Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh today called for new and innovative technological development exclusive to India while being mindful of international security challenges and future threats. Inaugurating the DefConnect 4.0 in Delhi today, Mr Singh said that the Government is committed to fully assisting both public and private sectors to achieve the goal of a strong and self-reliant defence sector. Highlighting the importance of DefConnect 4.0, Mr Singh said that it is a valuable platform to bring together different stakeholders of the defence ecosystem, which can help India strengthen and become self-reliant in this sector. Talking about the participation of private entities, the Minister encouraged the private sector to move ahead from imitative to innovative tech and cater to the futuristic needs of the Armed Forces.

During the event, the Defence Minister launched the Acing Development of Innovative Technologies with iDEX-ADITI 2.0 challenges and the 12^th edition of Defence India Start-up Challenges – DISC 12. ADITI 2.0 features 19 challenges from the Armed Forces and allied agencies, offering a grant of up to 25 crore rupees to Innovations for Defence Excellence winners. DISC 12 will present 41 challenges across key technology domains with grants up to 1 crore 50 lakh rupees. Mr Singh said that they will foster innovation, entrepreneurship and ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defence.