The Indian Army has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Podar Education Network, Mumbai, to enhance educational opportunities for the wards of serving personnel, veterans and the families of soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice.
Under the MoU, Podar Education Network’s 148 schools will provide the following support:
• 100% scholarship in tuition fee for up to four wards of personnel who died in harness / were declared Battle Casualty in each of its 148 schools.
• 50% scholarship in tuition fee for up to 10 wards of serving and retired personnel in each of its 148 schools.
In addition to the tuition fee scholarship, the support package will also include books, uniforms, school kits and one-time admission fee as part of the arrangement.
This initiative reflects the Indian Army’s continued commitment to the welfare of its soldiers and their families, and strengthens the institutional support framework for quality education for the Army ternity.In line with its commitment to Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Viksit Bharat @2047, the Indian Army has signed a procurement contract under Innovation for Defence Excellence (iDEX). The contract for procurement of a Fire Fighting Robot was executed with M/s Swadeshi Empresa Pvt Ltd on 13 January 2026 at the Capability Development Directorate of Indian Army.
Developed under the iDEX framework for the Indian Navy, the Fire Fighting Robot is being procured by the Indian Army for the first time by leveraging the enabling provision to acquire iDEX products developed for a sister Service, based on their Single Stage Composite Trial (SSCT). This initiative strengthens the defence start-up ecosystem and further underscores jointness and integration in defence technology development.
The Fire Fighting Robot is a compact and versatile unmanned ground vehicle designed to operate in hazardous fire-fighting environments where direct human intervention is risky. It enables fire-fighting operations from a safe distance, significantly enhancing personnel safety during critical response and emergency scenarios for Indian Army firefighters.
iDEX, under the Defence Innovation Organisation, has emerged as a key enabler in connecting the Armed Forces with start-ups and innovators, and has gained strong traction within the defence start-up community. The Indian Army is undertaking spiral development of its already delivered iDEX projects and is progressing nearly 22 iDEX projects towards trials following completion of prototype development.
