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India can no longer afford to lag in the race for emerging military technologies, said Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS) Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan on Thursday, announcing that the Indian Navy will unveil a fresh set of high-tech challenge statements at its upcoming innovation seminar, Swavlamban 2025.
Scheduled for November 25–26 at the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi, the fourth edition of the flagship event will see new problem statements- identified by the Technology Development Acceleration Cell (TDAC) under the Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) -opened to start-ups and MSMEs for solutions.
“We need to catch up to the global technology curve”
Addressing the media, Vice Admiral Vatsayan said the Navy is aggressively scouting applications for emerging technologies across domains to close long-standing capability gaps.
“We have always been behind the technology curve, but we plan to catch up to the curve that the world is operating at,” he said. “The Navy is exploring all possible use-cases in emerging technologies so that we don’t fall behind.”
The new challenge statements will focus on areas in which near-peer militaries – especially China – have advanced rapidly, including unmanned and counter-unmanned systems, unmanned underwater platforms, high-performance computing, quantum technologies and space-based capabilities.
Although he did not detail the new problem statements, the VCNS said the list was “large” and that 80 companies would showcase solutions at the event.
Navy Leads in iDEX Challenges and Outreach
The Indian Navy has significantly expanded its innovation pipeline over the past three years. Since 2022, it has launched more than 75 challenges, pushing its share of iDEX (Innovation for Defence Excellence) projects to over 35% of the total taken up across the three services since the scheme began in 2018.
“Since the launch of iDEX, over 565 challenges have been taken up across stakeholders, of which 198 pertain to the Indian Navy,” the VCNS said.
The result, he added, has been concrete progress:
- Over 150 new startups/MSMEs inducted into the defence innovation ecosystem
- More than Rs 2,700 crore worth of Acceptance of Necessity (AoNs) approved
- Procurement orders exceeding Rs 1,400 crore have already been placed
Outreach has also become more geographically diverse. While Delhi–NCR leads in participation, significant contributions now come from Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Tamil Nadu—reflecting the pan-India footprint of Swavlamban.
Cmde SK Singh, Officer-in-Charge, TDAC, told BharatShakti that products from 4–5 completed projects have already entered service, including indigenous fire-fighting systems, indopin chemical substitutes for paint coating, and autonomous life-saving buoys. Delivery of more systems is expected in the coming six months.
Matangi and Other Indigenous Solutions Deployed
Several solutions developed through earlier Swavlamban challenges have moved from prototypes to frontline deployment. One highlight of the 2024 edition was Matangi, an autonomous surface vessel (ASV) that recently completed a 1,500-km voyage from Mumbai to Thoothukudi as part of the Sagarmala Parikrama initiative. The Navy has placed orders for 10 such vessels.
“Sixteen contracts have been executed, totalling nearly Rs 1,500 crore. The trials for the Autonomous Surface Vessel Matangi have been completed, and the order for 10 boats has been placed. Delivery is scheduled to begin next year,” stated Vice Admiral Vatsayan.
Technologies showcased at this year’s event will include systems already operational across multiple platforms, including aboard INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya.
Major shipbuilding plans ahead
Vice Admiral Vatsayan also outlined a substantial pipeline of new warships and submarines:
- Four ships to be commissioned before the end of 2025
- Around 19 vessels planned for induction in 2026
- Another 13–14 ships slated for 2027
He added that the Ministry of Defence has already accorded initial approvals for 69 ships and six submarines, with formal contracts expected within the next year. The combined value of these programmes is likely to exceed Rs 2 lakh crore.
On the Navy’s next-generation destroyers, the VCNS said he was optimistic about receiving the first level of MoD clearance within the current financial year.
Ravi Shankar
Dr Ravi Shankar has over two decades of experience in communications, print journalism, electronic media, documentary film making and new media.
He makes regular appearances on national television news channels as a commentator and analyst on current and political affairs. Apart from being an acknowledged Journalist, he has been a passionate newsroom manager bringing a wide range of journalistic experience from past associations with India’s leading media conglomerates (Times of India group and India Today group) and had led global news-gathering operations at world’s biggest multimedia news agency- ANI-Reuters. He has covered Parliament extensively over the past several years. Widely traveled, he has covered several summits as part of media delegation accompanying the Indian President, Vice President, Prime Minister, External Affairs Minister and Finance Minister across Asia, Africa and Europe.
