iDEX

iDEX, Innovations for Defence Excellence, is a Government of India programme run under the Department of Defence Production of the Ministry of Defence. It is funded and managed by the Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO), a not-for-profit company formed under Section 8 of the Companies Act 2013 under the aegis of the department, and works with startups, MSMEs and partner incubators to develop technologies for the Indian armed forces, the Indian Coast Guard and defence agencies. The website reports 150 startups, 500 jobs supported and 20 partner incubators.

Challenges and schemes

• Defence India Startup Challenges (DISC): at the National Defence Industries Conclave 2026, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched DISC-14 and ADITI Challenges 4.0, with 107 problem statements, 82 under DISC-14 and 25 under ADITI 4.0, from the defence forces, the Indian Coast Guard and the Defence Space Agency
• ADITI, the scheme for critical and strategic technologies, through which DIO works with six partner incubators including SINE at IIT Bombay, SIIC at IIT Kanpur and IIT Hyderabad to support startups and MSMEs
• Technology domains tracked on the site include drones and unmanned aerial vehicles, with 20 challenges and 23 startups, as well as cryptography, sensors, monitoring systems and communication systems, each with its own count of challenges and participating startups
• Scheme documents for iDEX and ADITI are published on the site for applicants

Activities

iDEX and its startups took part in BharatInnovates 2026, where three iDEX winners announced partnerships and investment commitments, including a five million dollar commitment to EyeROV from Unicorn India Ventures Fund II. The Department of Defence Production also convened a roundtable with banks, financial institutions, investors, startups and MSMEs at South Block in New Delhi on 16 April 2025 to discuss financing risks and aligning funding, and the National Defence Industries Conclave 2026 at the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi focused on advanced manufacturing technologies. The programme publishes news bulletins, startup meet reports and a blog.

Shows

iDEX appears in the sponsor lists of the Dubai Airshow 2027, where it is listed among the Vista sponsors.

Contact

Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence, New Delhi, India
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