Indian Army has been using one of its arms, the ‘Corps of Signals’ for handling military communications. For this, a robust & secure strategic infrastructure is needed to assist soldiers’ transformation into a potent, highly synergized and fully networked force. But the ambitious growth goals of the country need more pedigree in order to build a vast, multilayered and tech-sealed patrolling network. As India’s defence domain plans to take its capabilities to dizzying heights, it would now require unfailing support from other domains too, with Electronics and Telecom being one of the prime picks.
At present, many proactive measures are being taken to leverage both existing and emerging technologies to facilitate this seamless transition. The Rs.11,330 crore Network for Spectrum (NFS) was rolled out recently which aims at laying an alternate communication network for Defence Services for release of spectrum and boosting the communication capabilities in a major way leading to enhanced national operational preparedness. The project has forward linkages to other related industries such as telecom equipment manufacturing and other telecommunication related services as well. In another development, the Indian Army had collaborated with IIT Madras to establish a 5G Testbed at the Military College of Telecommunication Engineering (MCTE). The Test Bed will facilitate the Indian Army to utilise the 5G technology for its operational use, especially along its borders.
In this way, the defence sector is rightly experiencing a convergence with the telecom sector at the right time when India is exploring opportunities that technologies like 5G and schemes like PLI can present. The Department of Telecom (DoT) has launched an incentive scheme for design-led manufacturers and extended the PLI scheme for telecom by one year. The move is aimed at incentivising design-led manufacturing in the telecom sector, which comes days after India took its first step towards 5G rollout when the Union Cabinet approved a proposal to invite applications for 5G spectrum auctions.
This will also result in bolstering the Defence Startup ecosystem in the country as any latest technology, communication-based or otherwise, is like fuel for this heavy sector. In a bid to support Indian startups, the Defence Minister had also launched the sixth edition of the Defence Indian Startup Challenge (DISC) under the iDEX programme in April this year. Under this, the Defence ministry backs startups that can offer software solutions such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), advanced imaging, sensor systems, big data analytics, autonomous unmanned systems and secured communication systems to the Indian military. MoD also aims to support Indian startups by offering financial assistance in the range of INR 1.5 Cr to INR 10 Cr. under this challenge.
Defence Startup Culture in the country is also expected to flourish in few years time as India looks forward to having trained, poised and industry-ready Agniveers as supporting staff soon. One can also expect a lot of defence-related startups mushrooming 3-4 years from now across the country, taking the defence ecosystem to hit new heights. Prospects of achieving unprecedented success will be especially brighter for those Agniveers, who possess an interest and understanding of both defence and Technology.
SHARE
