THE 'SPRINT' INITIATIVE

ARITRA BANERJEE reports on how the Indian Navy has taken some steps towards "self-reliance in defence"

- ARITRA BANERJEE

The Indian Navy has been at the forefront of revolutions in technology and innovation amongst the country's tri-services. The Government of India has given considerable impetus to the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' initiative as the country goes through its 75th year of independence, with self-reliance in defence (particularly the need to bolster innovations in indigenous disruptive defence technology) being a significant aspect.

It is in this backdrop that the Indian Navy's flagship Naval Indigenisation and Innovation Organisation (NIIO) and the Technology Development Acceleration Cell (TDAC), which is the NIIO's innovation arm along with Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), collaborate to develop the necessary research and development (R&D) support required for disruptive and niche technologies.

The endeavour intends to pay homage to 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsov' by inducting 75 indigenous defence solutions into the Indian Navy by the country's next Independence Day. The initiative is being supported by the Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO). It has been set in stone with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under the banner of SPRINT: an acronym that stands for "Supporting Pole-Vaulting in R&D through iDEX, NIIO & TDAC".

SPRINT aims at funding and sponsoring the promising Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME), universities, start-ups, and even talented individuals who bring abilities-extraordinaire to the table. All of this is arranged under the existing provisions of iDEX.

How does NIIO function?