March 1 2022:  General MM Naravane, Chief of Army Staff, Indian Army on Saturday inaugurated the third edition of Ahmedabad Design Week (ADW) organised by Karnavati University,  Gandhinagar, Gujarat. This year’s theme for ADW 3.0 is Design and Innovation in Defense and Aerospace.
General Naravane also spoke about the four Ds of Design – Discover, Define, Develop and Deliver. Speaking of the importance of design and its applications in the defence sector, he said, “The Indian Army has recently embarked on a programme for future ready combat vehicles. Both these are at conceptualization stage and we are open to ideas. The future in aerospace and defence is electric in the way things are going to change. As we go ahead more and more electricity-based equipment will come up that are not dependent on fossil fuel. There's a lot of work that can be done in the field of miniaturisation. We cannot afford to have large platforms. The size of our ship and aircrafts have to be small.”
“When you're designing something today, you must see where it will be 50 years from now. Requirements of the modern day battlefield are daunting and diverse. Designing a system that fits all in one is daunting. In designing, you must keep these aspects vital, essential and desirable in mind. If this aspect is kept in mind we would be able to do much better. For instance, a vehicle that can efficiently operate across all terrains or say develop a technology that makes potable water available easily in inaccessible areas. We are looking for technology solutions,” General Naravane further added.
Speakers present during the session included Lieutenant General KJS Dhillon, PVSM, UYSM, YSM, VSM (retired), Former Director General, Defence Intelligence Agency; Dr Sudhir Mishra, distinguished scientist and former CEO and MD, BrahMos Aerospace; Wing Commander Saurabh Chauhan, Indian Air Force and Dr R Shivaraman, Co-Founder, Big Bang Boom Solutions.
The day concluded with a panel discussion on Defence R&D in India – Designing for 2050 The Road Ahead at ADW 3.0 by RAdm Rahul Kumar Shrawat, AVSM (retired), CMD, Naval Group India; Lt Gen BS Jaswal, PVSM Bar to AVSM, VSM (retired); Major General Ashwani Kumar Channan, PVSM, SM (retired), Dr Greg Autry; Dr Sudhir Mishra; Col. Hariharan Shankar (retd); Leo Peter Charles; Group Captain, Ajay D Purandare, VSM, Mention – in-Despatches (retired).
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See our related report:  30 defence startups pitch innovation at Ahmedabad Design Week 
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The third edition of Ahmedabad Design Week – ADW 3.0 – which is being organised by Karnavati University,  is a big platform for defence sector start-ups to be able to showcase their ideas and breakthrough innovations before the investors and experts. Some 47 startups  took part. 
Some of these startups work in Augmented Reality-based solutions for Remote Assistance; electro-optic surveillance systems, UAV heavy lifters, holographic solutions, drone technology, surveillance equipment and sensors, Internet of Things (IoT) and sensor-enabled systems for industrial health applications, cyber security, among others.
“Startups are known for bringing about breakthrough innovations in technology. This year’s theme of ADW 3.0 is very much in line with the Government of India’s vision of achieving Atmanirbharta in Defence Manufacturing. Startups, known for breakthrough innovations and disruptions, have a major role to play here. The ADW 3.0 will see a host of defence industry experts in addition to industry thought leaders who understand precise requirements of the sector. We at Karnavati University aim to bridge this gap between investors, industry experts and startups,” said Ritesh Hada, president, Karnavati University.