Defence and iDEX support (DISC and ADITI)
A programme by FSID, IISc (Foundation for Science Innovation and Development)
Support for startups running iDEX DISC and ADITI defence challenges, with veteran reviewers and an on-site Army Design Bureau cell.
At a glance
| Best for | Startups with an iDEX challenge in hand, or a technology they believe can serve the Armed Forces |
|---|---|
| Format | In person |
| Run with | iDEX / Defence Innovation Organisation, Ministry of Defence, Army Design Bureau, SIDBI |
About Defence and iDEX support (DISC and ADITI)
FSID describes itself as an official iDEX partner incubator supporting the DISC and ADITI innovation challenges, and says it hosts an on-site Army Design Bureau cell staffed by a senior Army officer with an engineering background. Its page states 27 active projects and five more in the pipeline.
What you get
- Help reading an iDEX problem statement into technical requirements
- Technical mentoring and structured design reviews at each milestone
- Prototype development with access to IISc facilities, labs and specialised equipment
- Coordination of user trials through the Army Design Bureau cell
- Preparation of acceptance test documents, compliance submissions and technical documentation
- Guidance on IP protection, defence certification and procurement pathways
- Project management discipline: work breakdown structure, a route-to-realise plan, a project development budget and acceptance test criteria
- Investor connects, and a partnership with SIDBI aimed at the matching contribution iDEX startups have to find
Who can apply
- Not restricted on the page beyond holding an iDEX challenge or a defence-relevant technology
How to apply: write to deftech@fsid-iisc.in. Open challenges are published by iDEX itself, so intake follows their cycles rather than FSID's.
Where to apply
Other FSID programmes
- STEM Cell — STEM Innovation EntrepreneurshipFSID's deep science incubator on the IISc campus, open to founders with no IISc affiliation and accepting applications all year.
- Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR)A structured track for validating a startup idea and producing a full incubation proposal, without having to set up a company first.
- Faculty Entrepreneurship ProgramA route for IISc faculty to take their own expertise to market, under IISc's own policies.
- NIDHI Seed Support ProgramA Department of Science & Technology scheme FSID runs for startups it already incubates, bridging prototype to commercialization.
- MeitY TIDE 2.0A MeitY scheme FSID operates, with a one-year entrepreneur-in-residence track and a one-year incubation track for startups.
- BUILD 2026 (with Boeing India)A free boot camp and pitch competition with Boeing India for 2026 graduates and pre-seed founders, run across seven partner incubators.
- TIME2 — new product development for established industryFSID's division for existing MSMEs and companies that want IP-based products or an in-house innovation capability, not a startup programme.
- Centre of Data for Public Good (CDPG)An ongoing Strategic Programs initiative applying data and technology to public problems, behind IUDX, ADeX and GDI.
- Gallium Nitride Ecosystem Enabling Centre and Incubator (GEECI)A small-volume semiconductor wafer and device production, characterization and packaging facility at CeNSE, IISc.
- India Open Source for Mobile Communication Network (IOSMCN)An ongoing Strategic Programs initiative building an open-source software platform for 5G and beyond.
- Quantum Research Park (QuRP)A quantum computing hub bootstrapped by FSID with support from KITS, Government of Karnataka, under IISc's Quantum Technology Initiative.