Day 2 of Startup Mahakumbh 2025 put the spotlight on India’s growing leadership in deep-tech, defence, and precision manufacturing as top government officials, industry leaders, and startup founders converged at the Defence, Space & B2B Precision Manufacturing Pavilion. Addressing the pavilion’s keynote session, Amit Satija, IAS, Joint Secretary, Department of Defence Production, highlighted the transformative role of iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence). “iDEX has partnered with thousands of startups and rolled out over 450 projects,” Satija said, noting that investor confidence is strong with over Rs 4.45 billion already invested in iDEX winners. “Startups will lead the charge in building a Viksit Bharat — a self-reliant, tech-savvy India,” he added. India’s defence exports continue their upward trajectory, increasing from Rs 21 billion last year to approximately Rs 23.6 billion in 2024. The Ministry of Defence has set an ambitious export target of Rs 50 billion by 2028-29. In a major collaboration, IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center) signed a tripartite MoU with the Defence Technology Development Fund (DTDF) and Directorate of Research and Development (DROD). This initiative will support startups and MSMEs under the Dare to Dream contest and the Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme, particularly for Defence Space Technologies. During a session titled “Innovations in Precision Manufacturing,” panelists including DPIIT’s Bhuvnesh Pratap Singh, MEA’s Dr. Kumar Abhijeet, and IN-SPACe’s Jagathi Priya emphasized export control, ease of approvals, and startup compliance as critical to enabling a $44 billion Indian space economy over the next decade. With 100% FDI now permitted in various sectors, speakers called for regulatory agility to nurture innovation. Another panel led by Abhishek Chandra (Evolvence India Fund) brought together leaders from India’s deep-tech space such as Dheya Technologies, Unimech Aerospace, and HHV Advanced Technologies. Discussions centered on investment, innovation, and the industrial partnerships required to scale high-tech ventures. In a pivotal discussion moderated by Sansad TV’s Manish Kumar Jha, DRDO’s Dr. Subrata Rakshit and senior officials from Azista BST Aerospace, HQ IDS, and Digantara highlighted the necessity of deeper startup-academia-industry collaboration. They called for stronger policy and financial support systems to enable long-term R&D in strategic technologies, noting that unlike consumer tech, defence and space startups require patient capital and sustained technical mentorship. From MoUs and visionary targets to high-level panels and industry-wide collaboration, Day 2 of Startup Mahakumbh 2025 reinforced India’s goal of becoming a global powerhouse in deep-tech, strategic manufacturing, and defence innovation.