Article Posted on : - Sep 27, 2023

NEW DELHI (PTI): The Indian Navy will unveil an updated "indigenisation roadmap" and showcase home-grown technologies relating to underwater swarm drones, firefighting systems and robotics at a two-day mega conclave next week, officials said on Wednesday.

The roadmap will be released at the second edition of the annual 'Swavlamban' seminar to be held on October 4 and 5.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to attend the conclave.

Seventy-five technologies having applications in various military hardware including underwater swarm drones, autonomous weaponised boat swarms and fire fighting systems will be displayed at the seminar, the officials said.

At a media briefing, Vice Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh said the Navy resolved to develop 75 technologies at the Swavlamban seminar last year and the aim has been achieved.

"Last year, in the presence of the Prime Minister, the Indian Navy had committed to develop at least 75 technologies as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav," he said.

The Vice Chief said the Navy has invested considerable time and efforts towards realising this commitment.

"Today, I can say with confidence that the Swavlamban initiative has gained critical mass, and is gathering continuous momentum. And, I am happy to inform you that the promises made last year have been fully met, and even surpassed in some cases," he said.

These technologies will be showcased during upcoming Swavlamban seminar. An updated "Indian Navy indigenisation roadmap", a document titled 'Swavlamban 2.0' and new challenges for the industry are planned to be released at the seminar, said another senior official.

Vice Admiral Singh said over the past year, each and every proposal received by the Indian Navy has been examined, processed and pursued by dedicated teams of officers to ensure that the force has an array of "trials cleared products", which are consequently ready, or nearly-ready, for induction.

"We have already obtained Acceptance of Necessity for 12 such cases, worth close to 1500 Crores, and procurement orders for products worth 200 crore amongst these have already been signed. In the coming weeks, we are looking to conclude many more such contracts," he said.

The Navy is encouraging development of new products under the 'Sprint' initiative that was launched at the Naval Innovation and Indignation Organisation (NIIO) Seminar in July last year.

These products are being developed under the innovation for defence excellence scheme of the Ministry of Defence and Technology Development Acceleration Cell of Indian Navy.

"Sprint has been more than just a scheme - it has been a 'Statement of Intent'," Vice Admiral Singh said.

"The results have been to our satisfaction, and we are confident that many of the products that have been developed, as part of this initiative, will find their way into the other armed forces, government and civil sectors, and also export to friendly foreign countries," he said.

The Swavlamban is the annual seminar of the NIIO.
The upcoming edition will be the second edition in the series. The purpose of the seminar is to engage the Indian industry and academia towards achieving self-reliance in the defence sector.

The upcoming seminar will have sessions dedicated to innovation and aviation, in addition to the plenary session on the first day.

The sessions on innovation entails discussions on the 'Sprint' initiative followed by interactions on procurement, policies and certification.

In addition, a number of other launches and major policy announcements concerning all three services are expected.

The second day will feature sessions on indigenisation and armament, including an interactive session with the industry on Swavlamban 2.0 document.

The second day will also feature breakout sessions on medical innovations and participation of defence attaches and diplomats from more than 50 friendly foreign countries, Navy officials said.