SPRINT Challenges:
PM unveiled ‘SPRINT challenges’, an initiative aimed at boosting the usage of indigenous technology in the Indian Navy.
- Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) in cooperation with the Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO), aims to induct at least 75 new indigenous technologies/products into the Indian Navy.
- The collaborative project is named SPRINT — Supporting Pole-Vaulting in R&D through iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence), NIIO and TDAC (Technology Development Acceleration Cell).
- The expenditure on defence procurement from foreign sources has reduced from 46% to 36%, thereby reducing the import burden, in the last 3 (three) years i.e. from 2018-19 to 2020-21.
Other initiatives for indigenization of Defence:
- Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020: Prioritized capital investment from domestic manufacturers.
- New FDI Policy: Preference to ‘Buy (Indian)’, ‘Buy & Make (Indian)’ & ‘Make’ categories of acquisition over ‘Buy (Global)’
FDI through automatic approval is increased from 49% to 74%. - E- Biz Portal: A one-stop shop for providing G2B services to investors and business communities.
- Mission Raksha Gyanshakti: with the objective of creating greater Intellectual Property in the Defence Production Ecosystem.
- Artificial Intelligence in Defence: Creation of Defence Artificial Intelligence Project Agency (DAIPA) in, 2019 for greater thrust on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Defence.
- Strategic Partnership Policy: This is to promote Joint Ventures (JV) between global defence majors and the indigenous private sector.
