The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced the inclusion of a scheme to promote innovation in small businesses into the country's military acquisition processes.

The MoD said in a statement on 21 January that the 'Innovations for Defence Excellence' - also known as iDEX - will be included in the official Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP).

"This [will] provide avenues in capital procurement for the armed forces to startups and innovators working for iDEX and provide [a] huge fillip to their budding efforts," said the MoD about the move.

The MoD added that the decision to include iDEX in the DPP was approved by India's Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), which is headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.