New Delhi: The Indian Navy will hold the fifth edition of its flagship Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Seminar, Swavlamban 2026, on October 26 and 27 at the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi, with a focus on translating indigenous technological innovations into operational capabilities and advancing self-reliance in defence.
A curtain-raiser press conference for the event was held in New Delhi on Monday under the chairmanship of Vice Admiral Ajay Kochhar, Vice Chief of the Naval Staff. Addressing the media, Kochhar said Swavlamban, launched in 2022, had helped connect the Navy’s operational requirements with the technological capabilities of Indian industry and academia.
Highlighting the changing nature of modern warfare, he stressed the need to develop specialised technologies into systems that can be deployed at sea. He also underlined the importance of durable indigenous technologies in ensuring combat readiness, operational flexibility and sustained capability enhancement for a navy operating over long distances and undertaking prolonged deployments.
The seminar will bring together innovators, industry partners, start-ups, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), academic institutions, investors and the armed forces to explore solutions to emerging maritime security challenges.
The exhibition will showcase indigenous innovations in maritime surveillance, counter-unmanned aerial systems (Counter-UAS), artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, nuclear, biological, chemical and damage-control systems (NBCD), and safety and efficiency enhancement.
Engagements with venture capitalists and investors will form a key part of the programme, providing opportunities to discuss funding, scaling up promising enterprises and commercialising indigenous technologies.
The seminar will also feature panel discussions involving MSMEs on self-reliance, strengthening the iDEX innovation ecosystem, building resilient supply chains, promoting academic entrepreneurship and highlighting start-up success stories.
Three key documents will be released during the event: the Swavlamban 5.0 Document, the Compendium on Technology Imperatives, and the Naval Unified Systems, Ethernet and Tactical Utilisation (NAUSETU) Interface Standards.
Swavlamban 2026 aims to deepen collaboration between the Indian Navy and the country’s innovation ecosystem to develop future-ready capabilities and address the evolving technological demands of modern warfare.
