As many as 12 startups have been inducted into Forge Accelerator here to work on Defence projects.
According to Meera, Programme Director at Forge, under the iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence) scheme of the Union Government, 15 challenges from all segments of the Defence were thrown open last year for startups to come up with solutions.
To receive grant
Of the total applications, 44 startups were selected and each of these will receive ₹1.5 crore grant under Support for Prototype and Research Kickstart (in Defence) programme. The Defence Ministry had also identified six partner incubators, including Forge, across the country to support these startups. Of the 44, 12 startups were inducted at Forge recently for the 18-month programme.
While some of the startups are already working in Defence sector, some are new and all are from different parts of the country, including Chennai, Bengaluru, and Coimbatore. An officer from the Defence is overseeing works done by the startups for each challenge.
“The incubatees will have to build a Defence grade product. We will enable the process for them at Forge,” she said. Forge had signed an agreement with the Defence Ministry last year for this project, she added.
