A private vessel that will sail 1,500 km from Mumbai to Tuticorin

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and army chiefs at Swavlamban 2024 in New Delhi on October 29. | Photo Credit: SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday (October 29, 2024) almost flagged off the Sagarmala Parikrama, a 1,500 km long private submarine, made by Sagar Defense Engineering, from Mumbai to Tuticorin.

The cruise, which was unveiled at Swavlamban, the annual event of the Naval Innovation and Indigenization Organization (NIIO), is an important technology demonstration especially as the Indian Navy looks to field more submarines and submarines.

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The Minister officially launched the third edition of Acing Development of Innovative Technologies with the challenge of IDEX (ADITI 3.0) and the 13th edition of Defense India Start-up Challenges (DISC 13) aimed at developing indigenous defense technologies and their operational efficiency.

ADITI 3.0 includes a challenge from the Navy to design a high-powered microwave weapon system. DISC 13 presents seven challenges – three from the Army and two each from the Navy and Air Force – in the fields of artificial intelligence, military communications and autonomous bots among others.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief of the Navy Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi reiterated that the Navy has decided to become a “fully aatmanirbhar army” by 2047. “I am really happy to share that through the ongoing discussions and collaborative efforts of Defense Innovation Organization (DIO) and NIIO, 173 challenges presented to the industry by the Navy, including all 75 challenges presented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi…

This, the Navy Chief said, has resulted in over 2,000 proposals, spending over R2,000 crore and the completion of 171 contracts worth over R700 crore for the development of “swadeshi solutions” many of which are “global. first, game changers and technologically futuristic”.

“The government’s independent efforts have made science, technology and innovation a revolutionary concept in the country,” said Mr. Singh, speaking on the occasion. He noted that in the last two sessions of ‘Swavlamban’, the Navy received more than 2,000 proposals from Indian industries under the SPRINT challenges, which were unveiled during Swavlamban 1.0 in July 2022.

SPRINT stands for Supporting Pole-Vaulting in R&D through iDEX, NIIO and Technology Development Acceleration Cell. He said that these proposals have been converted into 155 challenges, which will help in completing 171 contracts. “Furthermore, the Swavalamban program has partnered with 213 MSMEs and start-ups under iDEX. So far, acceptance of Demand of more than R2,000 million has been granted in 19 cases, out of which contracts worth up to R784 crore have been completed,” he said.

The exhibition held on 28th and 29th October showcased several new technologies, concepts and products designed and developed by Indian security guards and Small, Small and Medium Enterprises. Monday’s events included a networking session aimed at discussing problem statements and challenges created as part of the launch of DIO’s ADITI 2.0 under the IDEX program, as well as bringing together venture capitalist incubators, the Navy said.

Five Hackathon challenges were released a few days ago as a national-level competition aimed at tackling real-world operational challenges with innovative technology solutions. The five challenges include speech segmentation, coordinating a fleet of airborne aircraft, navigation and real-time tracking of flying objects, a load balancer application in a cargo hold, and maritime situational awareness. Mr. Singh gave away the prizes to the winners.