ICC summit in Vizag highlights India’s push for indigenous defence technology

Visakhapatnam: The ICC Defence Start-up and Autonomous Systems Summit, held in Vizag on Monday, spotlighted India's rapidly growing defence, aerospace, and autonomous systems sector. Over 50 start-ups showcased cutting-edge solutions aimed at strengthening self-reliance in defence manufacturing.Exhibits featured autonomous drones for surveillance and tactical operations, intelligence-gathering technologies, electronic components, software solutions, and cybersecurity systems to protect critical infrastructure. Aerospace innovators demonstrated indigenous components, simulation tools, and next-generation propulsion technologies for military applications. The summit aligns with the Union government and Ministry of Defence's vision to promote indigenisation and reduce dependence on foreign imports.Dr Rajeev Singh, director general of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), said the summit fosters collaboration between policymakers, armed forces, PSUs, private industry, and emerging start-ups. He outlined three objectives: shaping policy to realise Make in India in defence, identifying opportunities for SMEs and start-ups in niche high-tech areas, and showcasing the growing defence start-up ecosystem.Vice Admiral Sanjay Bhalla, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command, was chief guest. Dr G. Satheesh Reddy, President of the Aeronautical Society of India and advisor to the AP government, highlighted the state's role in enhancing national defence manufacturing. Cmde PR Hari (Retd.), chairman of the ICC National Expert Committee on Defence, Aerospace & Space and CMD of GRSE Ltd, spoke about leveraging MSMEs and start-ups to modernise the sector.Start-ups showcased innovations including Tsalla Aerospace's GPS-independent autonomous drone, CoreIoT's smart antenna solutions, Apollo Micro Systems' torpedoes and avionic systems, Ainfinite's sovereign LLM platform for defence, SPM Instruments' condition monitoring tools, and Saif Seas' Hawk 1600+ autonomous survey craft.