Innovations for Defence Excellence — DISC / Open Challenge

iDEX funds defence and aerospace innovation through challenge-based grants and procurement-linked pathways. Public iDEX/defence sources show grants up to ₹1.5 crore for DISC/Open Challenge and up to ₹10 crore under iDEX Prime. DISC and Open Challenge problem statements originate from the armed forces and defence PSUs, which publish specific capability gaps; winning proposals are then funded through the SPARK (Support for Prototype and Research Kickstart) grant mechanism at up to ₹1.5 crore, while iDEX Prime exists as a separate follow-on track raising the ceiling to ₹10 crore for startups needing to scale beyond initial prototyping. Selection runs through a High-Powered Screening Committee pitch process, and successful startups often go on to formal procurement discussions with the sponsoring service once their prototype is validated.