IIT GOA HOSTS VIRTUAL ROADSHOW WITH MINISTRY OF DEFENCE AND IDEX.
PANAJI: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Goa, along with the Ministry of Defence and IDEX, DIO hosted a virtual roadshow on DISC (Defence India Start-Up Challenge).
The fourth edition of DISC, which focuses on meeting the needs of the armed forces, is underway. Echoing several other initiatives by the Government of India, such as Make in India and Start-up India, DISC too aims to stabilize and build the Indian commercial ecosystem. DISC 4 also allows various stakeholders to tap into Goa’s potential for establishing itself at the helm of research in defence technologies and defence manufacturing- especially related to the Navy, the possibility of which was affirmed by the chief guest for the eventUnion Minister of State for Defence, Shripad Naik.
Addressing the attendees consisting of several other dignitaries including Sanjay Jaju, Additional Secretary Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence and representatives of Air Force, Navy and Army, innovators, faculty and the student community, the Minister noted how the access to shipyards and MSMEs dealing with the manufacturing of the shipping components equip the State to transform itself into a premier defence hub and a foremost partner incubator for IDEX DIO. Shri Naik noted that IIT Goa's role in these projections is crucial.
He lauded “IIT Goa and the local MSMEs’ efforts to create jobs and technologies for the future”, which he said “would subsequently help build this region as well lay the foundations for a stronger sustainable nation”.
Adding to the minister’s words, Prof B K Mishra, Director, IIT Goa, noted how IIT Goa with its manpower and infrastructure would be the right place for the IDEX-proposed start-up incubation hub to be set up. Outlining the various MoUs signed in the recent past within the local ecosystem and with industries including Kineco Kaman Composites, Goa Shipyard and Siemens Ltd, Prof Mishra described how the Institute’s activities – research and academic – have been aligned with the State’s interest in transforming Goa into a sustainable technological hub.
He also added that the IIT community “is hopeful that our engagement with R&D is going to go a long way to establish one incubation hub here. Our students are quite active and participating in national level hackathons and are building a Start-up ecosystem.”