NEW DELHI (PTI): The third edition of Indian Navy's flagship Swavlamban seminar, which seeks to promote naval innovation and indigenisation, will be held on October 28-29, an official spokesperson has said.

Swavlamban 2024 will be hosted at the Bharat Mandapam complex.

"Over the last two editions of Swavlamban, the Indian Navy has received more than 2,000 proposals from the Indian industry that have been converted into 155 challenges to facilitate development of prototypes," a Navy spokesperson said.

This initiative has enabled collaboration with more than 200 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) under the iDEX scheme.

Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018, iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence) continues to provide a unified platform for various stakeholders in defence and aerospace sectors, contributing to the vision of a ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047.

Swavlamban 2024 is expected to build on the experiences and insights gained through the conduct of previous editions of the seminar and provide new and substantial impetus to the innovation and indigenisation endeavour, the spokesperson said.

The event will showcase products of niche technologies such as air and surface surveillance, autonomous systems in surface, aerial and underwater domains, artificial intelligence and quantum technologies.

Domain-specific interactive sessions on October 29 shall provide an opportunity for interaction among policymakers, innovators, startups, MSMEs, financial institutions and venture capitalists to discuss and deliberate on issues such as emerging technologies, future warfare, indigenisation, boosting innovation ecosystem and inculcating an innovative culture, the spokesperson said.