India’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan has called upon Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) to deeply engage with the Indian startup community in partnership with the Indian space industry to develop cutting-edge solutions which would help reduce our technology gap vis-à-vis our adversaries. He said,”there is enough space for everyone to grow. I wish all the startups in the space domain graduate to become unicorns and then flourish as global partners in times to come.”
General Chauhan was addressing the second edition of the ‘Indian DefSpace Symposium 2024’ virtually which kicked off on April 18 at Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi. Symposium being organized by Indian Space Association (ISpA) is a three-day forum to explore the latest trends and challenges in the defence space sector enabling the key stakeholders from the defence sector, DRDO, government entities, and industry professionals to network and collaborate.
According to a press release the symposium is an effort to boost the collaboration between the Indian space and defence sectors.
Indian navy Chief Admiral R. Hari Kumar was the Chief Guest at the inaugural event where as Chairman of DRDO participated as the Guest of Honor. Various other dignitaries from across the ministries, defence and space industry were also present on the occasion.
The first day of the event witnessed various sessions and panel discussions with experts from the defence, space sector to deliberate on a wide range of topics like challenges in the sectors, China’s defence space capability, etc.
In the welcome address, Chairman of Indian Space Association Jayant D Patil said, “Till 2020, we’ll be just about 2% of the global space commerce. Today we have clear plans to reach close to 44 billion dollars. I believe that when all of us between industry, the user, and the space professionals start coming together, things can happen. We know the sector has been opened in 2020, the policy to create a framework for activating took a little bit of time, came up in April 2023 and the FDI rules have just been notified yesterday but announced a few weeks back, now remains to bring peace to that policy, and that’s the law. We wait for the new government to do that. Just after the new government forms, I believe that’s an action which all of us need to take. So that the space then starts getting perfectly regulated. Although a regulator today exists, the regulator does not have peace of the law. It has a backing of the policy, and from policy to law is a path we still have to cross.”
CDS General Anil Chauhan, in his virtual address, said, “ I can say that there is enough space for everyone to grow. I wish all the startups in space domain graduate to become unicorns and then flourish as global partners in times to come. During the last India DefSpace Symposium organized by the Indian Space Association, we saw the industry working closely with the Ministry of Defense and user stakeholders for the finalization of DefSpace Challenge winners. Now that most of the IDEX winners have been finalized, it’s important for the users to deeply engage with the startups to facilitate and handle the technology development process so that the delivered products can meet the expectations of the services. I will call upon DRDO to deeply engage with the Indian startup community in partnership with the Indian space industry to develop cutting-edge solutions which would help reduce our technology gap vis-à-vis our adversaries.”
General Chauhan said ,”earlier, I had made a mention of developing a legal and academic framework for our space capabilities. There is a need to develop and update our requisite doctrines to ensure that space and cyber elements are deeply integrated at strategic, operational and tactical levels. We also need to ensure interoperability with the current and future equipment. Capacity building in terms of both subject matter experts and advisors as well as making a technology competent workforce will be the highest priority so that we are prepared to undertake transformation which will be inescapable or reduction of space-based solutions presently under development. I’m sanguine that the three services, DRDO, industry, startups, and academia will be able to utilize this platform to discuss and come up with creative solutions to empower our nation.”
Addressing the inaugural session, Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral R. Hari Kumar said, “ In the vast expanses of the maritime domain, satellite connectivity provides us with reliable and secure communication, even in the most remote expanses of our areas of operation. High-bandwidth SATCOM links facilitate real-time voice, data and video transmission, ensuring seamless command, control, communication and coordination across diverse theaters of operation as we strive to ensure safe, secure and stable seas for all. Space technology has indeed emerged as the key enabler for bolstering maritime security through real-time and responsive maritime domain awareness, offering invaluable insight into the movement, vessel tracking, illegal fishing detection, disaster management and environment protection.”
DRDO Dr. Samir V. Kamat Chairman, while speaking at the inaugural day said , “Space situational awareness, space-based surveillance, launch on demand capability are some areas where we need to develop capabilities further, these are critical areas. And we can do this if we all work together. It is indeed a very good sign, that all of us are taking space and defence collaboration seriously, this is one area which is now going to be a key focus area. We are willing to work with startups and industry and are also willing to fund R&D in this area. IDEX already has 75 challenges, but we also have another mechanism called Technology Development Fund, where we can fund up to 50 crores. If there are any good projects where any start-ups or MSMEs are present today and if you have any good proposals, you can approach us.”
Lt. Gen. AK Bhatt, DG of Indian Space Association in his vote of thanks, emphasized on the need to focus on discussions around Defence Space challenges to take it forward and to get outcome for the users i.e the services. He also informed the audience about the recent launch of the earth observation satellite by TASL, a one to one model of which was also available in the exhibition. The DG also informed the audience of Euroconsult’s study on the social impact of space initiated by ISRO.
The ongoing symposium is focusing on creating a platform for all stakeholders who have a keen interest in boosting India’s military space capability and plans. The platform brings together experts from multiple domains to discuss the latest trends and challenges in the field of defence space, making it an networking opportunity for attendees from the defence, DRDO, and government sectors, as well as industry professionals to collaborate.
