New Delhi, June 22 (KNN) India and US on Wednesday launched the India-United States Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS X) in Washington DC.

The INDUS X event was co-organised by Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), Ministry of Defence, and US Department of Defence (DoD) and hosted by US-India Business Council (USIBC).

Anurag Bajpai, Joint Secretary (Defence Industries Promotion), MoD, led the Indian delegation in the two-day INDUS-X event.

In his opening keynote address, Frank Kendall, US Secretary of the Air Force said that the India-US relationship is growing exponentially. 

He emphasised that there is an enormous potential for the start-ups of both nations to collaborate in deeptech innovations, especially in the Space and Artificial Intelligence (AI) domain.

Anurag Bajpai, in his welcome remarks on “Investing in the Future of US-Indian Defence relations”, hailed the launch of iCET as a landmark event in India-US relationship. 

He said this was an opportune moment for this event, as the leaders of the two largest and oldest democracies of the world meet in Washington.

The Joint Secretary stressed on the co-development and co-production of advanced technologies by Indian and US start-ups. 

He further asked the participants to develop mechanisms for future collaboration across industries, academia, and investors. 

The Joint Secretary also gave an overview of the Make in India initiative, focussing on Aatmanirbhar Bharat and the philosophy of “Make in India, for the world”.

The event also saw a first-of-its-kind joint showcasing of innovative technologies by Indian and US start-ups. 15 Indian start-ups and 10 US start-ups, from multiple domains of maritime, AI, autonomous systems, and space, showcased their technologies to Indian and US stakeholders.  (KNN Bureau)