INDUS-X: India, US to expand strategic technology partnership and defence industrial cooperation

With an aim to expand the strategic technology partnership and defence industrial cooperation between the two countries, India-US Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) was launched by the defence departments of India and the US on Wednesday, informed an official press release.

A factsheet was released for operationalising the “Defence Innovation Bridge” under the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) at the event, according to the official release by the Ministry of Defence.

iCET was announced by US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2022 for cooperation on critical and emerging technologies including artificial intelligence, semiconductors and quantum computing.

The event also saw a first-of-its-kind joint showcasing innovative technologies by Indian and US start-ups. 15 Indian start-ups and 10 US start-ups, from multiple domains of maritime, AI, autonomous systems and space showcased their technologies to Indian and US stakeholders.

According to the release, the support of both governments will lead to closer cooperation between the private sectors and will catalyse innovation by the research institutions within the defence industrial bases.

Through INDUS-X will strengthen India-US defence industrial ecosystems to make them more innovative, accessible, and resilient.

The two-day catalyst event was hosted by the US-India Business Council at the US Chamber of Commerce. Defence innovation stakeholders from across the governments, academic and research organizations, investors, defence firms, technology incubators, industry associations, and other start-up enablers came together to develop ambitious initiatives to drive INDUS-X forward.

Several prospective actions were taken during the event to advance the collaboration agenda

Under the Bilateral Cooperation Mechanism, a Senior Advisor Group (SAG) will assess the progress of the collaboration agenda and make recommendations to the defence establishments and other INDUS-X stakeholders for future work, the release stated.

The US Institute of Peace (USIP), Carnegie India, USIBC, the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), and the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) will convene follow-on programming to drive implementation of the collaboration agenda and identify barriers to implementation for the SAG’s consideration.

Several Industry and Academia-led initiatives were also taken, under which the Indian and US defence firms intend to identify opportunities to establish formal and informal mentoring with start-ups to assist with market access, business strategy, and technology know-how, the release added.

Under the Accelerator Program for Defense Start-ups, the Information Technology Industry Council (ITIC), and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad, in collaboration with additional INDUS-X stakeholders, have expressed their intent to explore opportunities to provide startups with jointly defined problem sets, mentoring, and exposure in defence commercialization, business development, product refinement, technology advancement, funding opportunities, and other areas.

Under the Academic and Start-up Programming Partnerships with Universities and Accelerators; Pennsylvania State University, IIT Madras, and IIT Kanpur have expressed their intent to lead best practice workshops with Indian and American universities and accelerator partners, such as labs, Technology Hub (T-HUB), IITs, and Hacking for India, to exchange best practices in defence innovation, fielding, and commercialization, the release stated.

Other than this, several collaborations of start-ups with Defence Majors’ Supply Chains were also discussed, under which the Indian and US defence firms may explore options for supply chain collaborations with start-ups.

During the INDUS-X event, several Public-Private Partnerships were also discussed. Under this, both the countries in collaboration with external stakeholders, will explore joint challenges for U.S. and Indian start-ups that leverage common dual-use cases for both countries, the release further stated.

Both countries will also explore pathways for start-ups to access each other’s respective research and development (R&D) centres and innovation labs to support start-up collaboration.

“INDUS-X stakeholders also intend to identify opportunities for enhanced testing and certification capacity in India and the United States,” the release stated.

IndiaSpora, IndUS Tech Council, Forge/Coimbatore, and T-Hub/Hyderabad will engage private investors to garner support for investment in defence and dual-use startups. The countries also intend to explore options (e.g., public-private partnership) for a fund to support deep-tech defence start-ups.

The Senior Advisor Group will also recommend adjustments to respective regulatory schemes (e.g., DFARS, ITAR, EAR, Make in India) to streamline start-up innovation between the two countries and increase procurement opportunities. The countries may refer these recommendations to existing trade dialogues, including the India-US Strategic Trade Dialogue, as appropriate, the release stated.

Both countries intend to explore standardizing certification for technologies developed by the defence innovation ecosystems of both countries, accelerating their absorption. Areas of focus include Quality Assurance (QA) parameters, certification standards, and program success memoranda.

With inputs from agencies

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