To promote Indigenisation, Naval Technology Acceleration Council (NTAC) holds its second meeting
With an aim to bolster indigenisation and innovation in the maritime domain, the Naval Technology Acceleration Council (NTAC) – the apex body of the Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) held its 2nd meeting under the chairmanship of VAdm SN Ghormade, Vice Chief of Naval Staff.
The council reviewed the ongoing & proposed indigenisation and innovation cases, and it was apprised that on average, over two Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) applications have been filed by naval personnel every month since the launch of the NIIO by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on 13 August 2020.
The Patent applications have been filed for military-specific as well as dual-use innovations in the maritime domain. Further, many multipurpose products have also already been transferred to the MSMEs for mass production through the National Research & Development Corporation (NRDC) and the Rashtriya Raksha University.
Giving a fillip to indigenisation, the Indian Navy has been operating a fully functional and dynamic Directorate of Indigenisation. Additionally, a technology Development Acceleration Cell (TDAC) has been created under NIIO to focus on innovation.
Major initiatives towards Indigenisation include industry outreach programs (conducted at Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, and Coimbatore), and the proposal set up a center for Indigenisation and Self-Reliance (CISR).
In addition to that, the technology Development Acceleration Cell also engages with academia and the industry to channelise in-house naval innovations.
Collaboration with Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers
To increase interaction with the industry, an online monthly session has also been instituted with the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM).
Notably, Deep tech startups are also being recognized as ‘innovation Industry Partners’ and are provided handholding to better understand naval requirements.
Further to engage young minds in premier educational institutions, the ‘Indian Naval Students Technical Engagement Programme’ (IN STEP) has been providing a five-month online internship to work on naval problem statements.
An ‘open challenge’ under IN STEP was also announced during the NTAC meeting, which was undertaken in partnership with SIDM and BharatShakti.in. An MoU was signed between the three organisations to this effect.
Promoting innovation through NIIO
The Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) aims at placing dedicated structures for the end-users to interact with academia and industry towards fostering innovation and indigenisation for self-reliance in defence.
NIIO is a three-tiered organisation, that includes the Naval Technology Acceleration Council (N-TAC) to bring together the twin aspects of innovation and indigenisation. A working group under the N-TAC implements the projects. Further, a Technology Development Acceleration Cell (TDAC) has also been created for induction of emerging disruptive technology in an accelerated time frame.
Indian Navy’s big leap in the world of modern era technologies
To equip the Indian Navy with modern era technologies, a workshop on the contemporary topic ‘Leveraging Artificial Intelligence (Al)’ was recently organized by the Navy’s premier technical training institute INS Valsura from 19 to 21 January 2022.
The workshop witnessed the participation of renowned IT Companies like Google, IBM, Infosys and TCS who shared the industry perspective during the three-day event. Conducted under the aegis of Southern Naval Command, the mega event also included distinguished academicians from IIT Delhi, New York University, Amrita University and Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology (DA- IICT), who deliberated about the usage of latest trends and applications of Artificial Intelligence.
Leveraging AI & Machine learning
The Indian Navy has been focusing on incorporating Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in critical mission areas. Aligned with a similar ethos, Jamnagar-based INS Valsura has already been designated as the Center of Excellence (CoE) in the field of Big Data and a state-of-art lab on AI and Big Data Analysis (BDA) was also set up in January 2020.
The creation of the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in the field of AI at INS Valsura, will be instrumental in the progress of pilot projects related to the adoption of AI and Big Data Analytics (BDA) in the domain of maintenance, HR and perception assessment. Likewise, the Indian Navy is also unifying and reorganising its enterprise data, as data is the fuel for all AI engines.
Understanding the strategic importance of these niche technologies, the Indian Navy has also created an ‘AI Core Group’, which meets twice a year for assessing all AI/ ML initiatives.
The periodic reviews of AI projects are being held to ensure the adherence of the promulgated timelines and to steer the AI initiatives, which are envisaged to have both tactical and strategic level impact. Further, the Indian navy also conducts training in AI/ ML across all levels of specialty for its officers and sailors. These trainings take place both within the Navy’s own training schools along with renowned Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). Notably, big and small AI linked courses have been training several personnel of the India Navy.
