250 companies, 50 Startups to showcase equipments
*Indigenous drones deployed on border
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMUI, Sept 6: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan and Army Chief General Manoj Pande will be among the dignitaries to attend the three-day North Tech Symposium being organised by the Army here from September 11.
The symposium is expected to draw more than 250 companies, including 50 start-ups, who will showcase their military equipment at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campus on the outskirts of Jammu.
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“The North Tech Symposium will commence on September 11 and conclude on September 13,” Chief of Staff Northern Command Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta said at a press conference here.
The Defence Minister, the Union Minister of State for Technology and Space, Lieutenant Governors of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, Chief of Defence Staff, and the Army chief will participate in this event, he said.
Lt Gen Sengupta emphasized that the symposium facilitates a structured approach to product evaluation, prioritisation, and acquisition while contributing actionable inputs for procurement plans.
He also highlighted the evolution of North Tech Symposium, which began in 2005 as a blend of equipment, ideas, innovation, and display but has since shifted its focus towards promoting cutting-edge defence technology and self-reliance.
Regarding the challenges faced by the Northern Command, Lt Gen Sengupta acknowledged the need for customized solutions due to diverse terrain and climatic conditions. He underlined the Northern Command’s efforts to bridge the gap between existing resources and requirements.
“This year’s North Tech Symposium will be a bigger leap in reinforcing our endeavours to close the gap towards desires,” he added.
He said that this year’s symposium aims to make significant strides in enhancing military capabilities, with its theme centered on “Synergy, Research, Development, and Innovation in the Modernization of the Military.”
Various weapons are set to be procured through this platform, using special financial powers granted to the Army Commander and other capital procurement projects, with a current annual budget of approximately Rs 1,000 crore, he added.
Dr Sunil Misra, Director General of the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers, emphasized that the symposium will showcase cutting-edge technologies aimed at addressing operational challenges faced by The Northern Command.
He highlighted the event’s dedication to reigniting the spirit of innovation to meet immediate and future security requirements.
Meanwhie, Indigenous drones have been deployed along the border in the northern and the western sectors of Jammu and Kashmir to counter adversaries.
The Indian Army is also focussing on artificial intelligence and has begun a process in this direction.
“High-tech drones are deployed on our northern and western borders to counter various operations of either the adversary or to carry out surveillance. They have been indigenously manufactured,” said.
He was replying to a question on the alleged failure of the Indian industry to produce high-tech drones meant to safeguard the borders and carry out operational tasks.
“We have learnt lessons from various conflicts,” he said and added that the Indian Army is aware of the measures required.
“It is not that these are not being developed in-house,” he said.
Lt Gen Sengupta said there has been a lot of research in logistic drones and autonomous vehicles since the last symposium.
“We can also use the logistic drones and we are doing it. We have different challenges for their use in high-altitude areas. We hope that we overcome these challenges through this symposium. We will be able to carry bigger loads through logistic drones to posts in high-altitude areas for operational needs,” he added.
Northern Command Major General (General Staff) Maj Gen SBK Singh said the Army has identified certain weapons for procurement.
“One of them is known as ASMI. It is a combination of two weapons. We will display it in a symposium this time,” he said.
“As far as other weapons systems are concerned, we don’t have a clear cut solution for them as of now,” he added.
On the use of artificial intelligence, he said the Army headquarters conducted a competition on the subject recently.
“Fifty experts took part in the competition. We shared the inputs with the industry. They are giving solutions. We are on track as far as artificial intelligence is concerned,” Maj Gen Singh added.
He added that the Northern Command has also begun reaching out to academic institutes and started evolving problem statements towards meaningful requirement-oriented research with academia.
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