SIDM Annual Session 2022 & Presentation of SIDM Champion Awards “India@75: Shaping for India@100”

New Delhi. 27 September 2022.  The 5th Annual Session of SIDM was organized on 27th September 2022 at Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi. The theme of the session- “India@75: Shaping for India@100” had been conceptualised with an aim to position India as one of the top countries in defence manufacturing, meeting the requirements of not just its own Armed Forces but of our Friendly Foreign Countries as well.

The Annual Session witnessed participation from the top leadership of the Ministry of Defence, Indian Armed Forces, Industry & Foreign Defence Attachés based in India.

Mr Rajnath Singh, Hon’ble Defence Minister was the Chief Guest at the Annual Session and also felicitated the winners of the 2nd edition of the SIDM Champions Award.

The Defence Minister pointed out that the constantly-evolving global scenario has led to increase in demand for military equipment across the world, with countries focussing on bolstering their security systems. He urged the industry to take advantage of this current golden period of the Indian defence sector, exhorting them to further enhance their participation through increased investment in the two defence corridors set up in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, with the aim to achieve the vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.

The Defence Minister, while commending the growth of SIDM, stated that in just five years of its inception, about 500 members have joined the association, which is an indicator of the progress of the Indian defence industry. He described the expansion of SIDM outside Delhi as a reflection to the industry’s trust as well as the association’s resolve to protect the interests of the local companies, with the main aim of strengthening national security.

Mr S P Shukla, President, SIDM said, “It’s important for our nation to conceive a broad, future telescopic view of its military capabilities based on where we stand today; what our adversaries are doing; how is the global geo-political framework evolving; what are the technological advances taking place; and how these technologies are likely to impact military capabilities and outcomes of military conflicts”. He highlighted that in the long term, policy stability, implementation and sustained support to industry would be the key factors for India to become a major defence manufacturing & exporting nation.

Mr Jayant D Patil, Immediate Past President, SIDM said “When we talk about India@100, in the Amrit Kaal, we need to look at not just new, niche technologies but also disruptive Technologies which are force Multipliers”. He highlighted that as the Indian economy grows, with the linkage of defence spend to GDP, more money is going to be available and towards that, initiatives which build India’s IP need to be set forth now.

Mr Baba N Kalyani, Past President, SIDM highlighted that the concept of Aatmanirbharbharat is to start understanding technology, know-how – know-why of products, and start making Indian products with Indian intellectual property.

The Session, inter alia, was attended by
• Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC, Chief of the Air Staff, Indian Air Force
• Vice Admiral SN Ghormade, PVSM, AVSM, NM, ADC, Vice Chief of the Naval Staff, Indian Navy
• Lt Gen B S Raju, UYSM, AVSM, YSM, Vice Chief of the Army Staff, Indian Army
• Dr A Sivathanu Pillai, Chairman, SIDM Champion Awards Jury and Founder CEO & MD, BrahMos

Aerospace, Former Hon’ Distinguished Professor, ISRO and Former Chief Controller (R&D), DRDO
On the occasion, Shri Rajnath Singh felicitated the winners of the 2nd edition of the SIDM Champions Award. The List of Winners and categories is given below:

CATEGORY 1 – Technology Innovation to address capability gaps

CATEGORY 2 -Import Substitution

CATEGORY 3 – Infrastructure for Design /Development and Testing

CATEGORY 4 – Export performance in Aerospace and Defence Sector

 The Session was attended by around 200 delegates