DAC Clears Procurement Of 14 Items Worth Over Rs 380 Crore For Armed Forces From iDEX Startups, MSMEs

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, on Tuesday (22 March) cleared the procurement of 14 items worth Rs 380.43 crore from the Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) startups and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), said an official release.

These items will be procured by the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force.

The DAC also approved the new simplified procedure for procurement from iDEX startups and MSMEs. This would fast-track the procurement from the startups and MSMEs, the Ministry of Defence said in a press release.

The procurement cycle from the AON to contract signing will be around 22 weeks as per the new procedure. Suitable incorporation will be made in the Defence Acquisition Procedure 2022, the ministry said.

The DAC also approved the simplified procedure for Make-II category projects on similar lines of iDEX procedure and would considerably bring down the time taken from prototype development to Contract signing in Make-II projects.

The iDEX, a game changer in the Defence eco-system, was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018 with the objective of fostering innovation and incorporating cutting-edge and disruptive technologies in the Armed Forces in a quick time-frame.

The iDEX scheme, since its initiative in 2018, has now gathered momentum, and it is expected that around 25-40 items after the successful prototyping by the iDEX startups and MSMEs, will be ready for procurement by this year end.

The iDEX scheme has been instituted under the over-arching mission of the Defence Ministry to achieve self-reliance and indigenisation.

According to the ministry, an enterprising network of experts from the Services, DPSUs, Industry, Academia, iDEX officials and the startups and MSMEs are involved in the process of co-creation and co-innovation.

The aim is to provide at least 50 world class solutions to the Armed Forces and the defence industry in the near future, it said.