Innovations for Defence Excellence | 18 May 2023

Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), the flagship initiative of the Ministry of Defence, has signed its 250th contract – first under Mission DefSpace – and 100^th SPRINT (Navy) contract.

Mission DefSPace Contract:
- Space startup InspeCity has been awarded the first iDEX contract of Mission DefSpace.
- InspeCity had emerged as the winner of a challenge conducted by the Defence Space Agency focused on developing a gas based Micropropulsion system for cubesats.
  - Cubesats are a class of small satellites and are easy to manufacture, modular, modular, low cost, integrate and launch. The cubesats are critical for launch-on-demand capabilities and are good for Imagery, Reconnaissance/communication, and also Intelligence Surveillance.
- This technology will enable precise manoeuvring and orbit correction for satellites, including the cubesat swarm being developed under Mission DefSpace.
SPRINT (Navy) Contract:
- Siliconia Technologies Pvt Ltd, has emerged as the winner of a SPRINT (Supporting Pole-Vaulting in R&D through iDEX, NIIO and TDAC) Challenge focused on developing a lightweight Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) based communication system for phased-array radars.
- The system provides multiple independent receiver/transmitter sources crucial for satellite tracking.
- It utilizes software-defined antennas for communication with Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Medium Earth Orbit, and Geostationary Satellites.

About:
- iDEX, launched in 2018, is an ecosystem to foster innovation & technology development in Defence and Aerospace by engaging innovators & entrepreneurs to deliver technologically advanced solutions for modernizing the Indian Military.
- It provides funding/grants to Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), start-ups, individual innovators, R&D (Research and Developments) institutes and academia to carry out research and development.
- The iDEX-Prime aims to support projects requiring support beyond Rs 1.5 crore up to Rs 10 crore, to help ever-growing start-ups in the defence sector.
  - iDEX portal was launched to provide wider publicity and better visibility of iDEX activities and enable more efficient running of future challenges through better information management.
Objectives:
- Indigenization: Rapid development of new, indigenized and innovative technology.
- Innovation: Creates a culture of engagement with innovative startups to encourage co-creation.
Funding:
- iDEX is funded and managed by “Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO)”.
- iDEX will function as the executive arm of DIO, carrying out all the required activities while DIO will provide high level policy guidance to iDEX.
Achievement:
- iDEX has been awarded the prestigious Prime Minister Award for Public Policy in Innovation Category for the year 2021.

It was inaugurated by Prime Minister of India during the October 2022 edition of India’s DefExpo.
It aims to nurture the Indian Private Space industry through challenges addressing every stage of a space mission – from mission planning to satellite data analytics.
This mission encompasses 75 Defense Space Challenges that directly suit the needs of end users.
These challenges have been categorised into the existing DDP initiatives of iDEX, Make-I, and Make-2, allowing participation from private industries, including startups, MSMEs, and individual innovators.
The challenges are categorized into five different domains:
- Launch System
- Satellite System
- Communication & Payload System
- Ground System, and Software System.
  - Together, they offer an in-depth and complete understanding of space from a 360-degree perspective.