Synopsis of the story
Mission DefSpace has been launched by the Indian government with 75 Defence Space Challenges aimed at encouraging the indigenous design, development, and manufacture of defence equipment. Private industries, including start-ups and MSMEs, are eligible to apply for the challenges, which are divided into five categories. The government has also implemented several policy initiatives to promote self-reliance in defence manufacturing and technology.
New Delhi: Mission DefSpace was launched by India’s Prime Minister during the DefExpo in October 2022 with 75 Defence Space Challenges relevant to end users. These challenges have been divided into existing DDP initiatives of iDEX, Make-I, and Make-2. Private industries, including start-ups, MSMEs, and individual innovators, are eligible to apply. The challenges, which are classified into five categories: Launch System, Satellite System, Communication & Payload System, Ground System, and Software System, provide a comprehensive overview of the space industry.
The Indian government has taken several policy initiatives in recent years to encourage the indigenous design, development, and manufacture of defence equipment, promoting self-reliance in defence manufacturing and technology in the country.
These initiatives include prioritizing the procurement of capital items from domestic sources under the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP)-2020;
- announcing 18 major defence platforms for industry-led design and development in March 2022;
- issuing four ‘Positive Indigenization Lists’ of a total of 411 items for services, and three ‘Positive Indigenization Lists’ of a total of 3738 items for Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), for which there will be an embargo on imports beyond the indicated timelines;
- simplifying the industrial licensing process with a longer validity period;
- liberalizing the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy to allow 74% FDI under the automatic route;
- simplifying the Make Procedure; launching the Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) scheme involving start-ups and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs);
- implementing the Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, 2017;
- launching an indigenization portal called SRIJAN to facilitate indigenization by Indian industry, including MSMEs;
- reforming the offset policy with a focus on attracting investment and transferring technology for defence manufacturing by assigning higher multipliers;
- establishing two Defence Industrial Corridors, one in Uttar Pradesh and one in Tamil Nadu;
- opening up defence research and development (R&D) for industry, start-ups, and academia with 25% of the defence R&D budget;
- and progressively increasing the allocation of the defence budget for military modernization for procurement from domestic sources, among others.
This information was provided by Raksha Rajya Mantri Ajay Bhatt in a written reply to Raja Amareshwara Naik and others in the Lok Sabha.
Five Takeaways of the story
- Mission DefSpace was launched in India with 75 Defence Space Challenges relevant to end users.
- Private industries, including start-ups, MSMEs, and individual innovators, are eligible to apply.
- The challenges are divided into five categories: Launch System, Satellite System, Communication & Payload System, Ground System, and Software System.
- The Indian government has taken several policy initiatives to encourage the indigenous design, development, and manufacture of defence equipment.
- These initiatives include prioritizing domestic procurement, simplifying industrial licensing, liberalizing FDI policy, and implementing various reforms.
Image: Innovation News Network
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