Rs 500 crore defence ministry plan to finance 250 startups

NEW DELHI: The defence ministry has finalised a Rs 500 crore plan to fund 250 startups and achieve 50 tangible innovations over the next five years as part of the overall policy to boost ‘Make in India’ in the arms production arena.
With the MoD now seeking the requisite approvals for the Rs 500 crore plan, defence minister Rajnath Singh on Monday emphasised the importance of “ideation, innovation and incubation” in cutting-edge technologies to achieve the goal of indigenisation and self-reliance in the defence sector.
Addressing the “Def-Connect 2019” seminar on the iDEX (innovations for defence excellence) initiative of the MoD, the minister said it was crucial for India to strengthen its defence manufacturing as well as research and development. He expressed confidence India will emerge as “a net innovator and net exporter of defence technologies rather than a net importer” in the years ahead.
Singh, however, was quite sanguine. “Our PM Narendra Modi has set a target of $5 trillion economy by 2024. Looking at the talent India possesses, I am pretty confident that we can become $10 trillion economy in the next 10-15 years,” he said.