Between 2015 and 2019, India was the second-largest arms importer in the world, behind only Saudi Arabia. With 50-55% of India's defence needs being met through imports, it's heavily reliant on countries like Russia, France and Israel for its defence technology.

But all that is about to change as India is working towards becoming aatmanirbhar in defence. They have already set aside 63% of their defence budget for FY22 which is $9.7 billion to procure locally produced weapons and systems.

Let's take a look at the top 10 defence startups in India making India aatmanirbhar in defence technology.

00:00 Introduction
04:06 #10 Big Bang Boom Solutions
05:51 #9 Sagar Defence Engineering
06:58 #8 Optimized Electrotech
08:40 #7 Dimension NXG (AjnaLens)
09:53 #6 Vinveli
11:06 #5 IdeaForge
12:52 #4 EyeROV
14:23 #3 Cron Systems (Cron AI)
15:53 #2 Axio Biosolutions
17:30 #1 Tonbo Imaging

#10 Big Bang Boom Solutions: Founded by R. Shivaraman and Praveen Dwarkanath in 2018, Big Bang Boom Solutions is among one of the youngest defence startups in India. The company is working on multiple technologies for the defence sector. Its flagship product which is called a 360 Advanced Battle Interface is focused on enhancing the visual capabilities of T-Series tanks used by the Indian armed forces.

#9 Sagar Defence Engineering: Founded by Nikunj Parashar and Mridul Babbar in 2016, Sagar Defence Engineering has some ambitious goals. Sagar Defence Engineering has developed a product called ‘Genesis – Boat in a Box’. It is an AI-enabled device that can be programmed to carry out smart and specific tasks that are not safe for humans like cleaning oil spills, surveying marine borders and providing flood relief.

#8 Optimized Electrotech: Founded by Anil Yekkala, Dharin Shah, Kuldeep Saxena, Purvi Shah, and Sandeep Shah in 2017, Optimized Electrotech is an electro-optics startup that is making security and surveillance systems for India’s defence forces. The company has developed a range of products that use high-resolution sensors and cameras to capture detailed images at low lighting conditions or even in complete darkness.

#7 Dimension NXG (AjnaLens): Founded by Pankaj Raut, Abhijit Patil and Abhishek Tomar in 2014, Dimension NXG (AjnaLens) is an augmented reality (AR) startup that has launched – AjnaBolt, which is India’s first AI-powered mixed reality glasses for defence.

#6 Vinveli: Founded by Gokul Anandayuvarj, Essaki Durai and Yuan Qu in 2014, Vinveli is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) startup. They have two versions of their flagship made in India drone named Vero. They can not only carry and fire explosives but also provide food
to the soldiers on the battlefield.

#5 IdeaForge: Founded by IIT graduates Ankit Mehta, Ashish Bhat, Rahul Singh, Vipul Joshi, and Amardeep Singh in 2010, IdeaForge claims to be India’s largest drone manufacturer for defence, homeland security and industrial applications. Unlike Vinveli, whose drones are capable of firing grenades and carrying ammunition, IdeaForge’s drones are specifically built for surveillance purposes.

#4 EyeROV: Founded by Johns T Mathai and Kannappa Palaniappan in 2016, EyeROV is an underwater drone startup that has developed India’s first commercial underwater drone called EyeROV Tuna. ROV stands for Remotely Operated Vehicle. Underwater inspections carried out by human divers can only go up to 30-40m and there are also risk to their lives due to high underwater currents, poor visibility and wild marine creatures.

#3 Cron Systems (Cron AI): Founded by Tushar Chhabra, Tommy Katzenellenbogen, and Saurav Agarwala in 2015, CRON Systems (Cron AI) is an IoT-based startup that is developing security solutions that are being deployed at Indian borders to detect any intruders and protect the troops.

#2 Axio Biosolutions: Founded by Leo Mavely in 2008, Axio Biosolutions has developed India’s first FDA approved wound care product – Axiostat. Axiostat is a haemostatic dressing that is now used by the soldiers on the battlefield to control the bleeding from gunshot wounds or blast injuries that would otherwise be fatal.

#1 Tonbo Imaging: Founded by Arvind Lakshmikumar, Ankit Kumar, Sudeep George and Cecilia D'Souza in 2012, Tonbo Imaging builds advanced imaging and sensor systems for the defence industry. Tonbo Imaging’s flagship product is called STAR (See-through armour) which is a combination of multiple 3 day and 3 night vision sensors (with a field of vision of 120 degrees each) creating an imaging system that can help any armoured vehicle to get a 360-degree view.

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