Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) is an initiative by the Ministry of Defence to foster innovation and technology development in the Defence and Aerospace sector. It engages startups, MSMEs, individual innovators, R&D institutes, and academia to promote self-reliance. iDEX provides financial support (grants), mentorship, and access to test facilities to develop innovative solutions for defence needs through challenges like Defence India Startup Challenges (DISC) and Open Challenges.