Navy chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi has said India's semiconductor policy is essentially "new oil for the economy" and important to improve the country's defence manufacturing. Speaking at an event here on Monday, he also asked the private sector to take the lead in order to make the country self-reliant. If India has to become self-reliant, then the private industry must take the lead in defence manufacturing, he said. The Ministry of Defence has set aside Rs 450 crore this year for the Innovation for Defence Excellence (iDEX) scheme, which aims to help startups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) innovate, Admiral Tripathi said. "The MoD has earmarked 75 per cent of our modernisation budget for the defence industry, which is almost Rs 1 lakh crore. And out of that, 25 per cent has been earmarked for the private defence industry in this budget. This year, Rs 450 crore has been successfully allocated for iDEX scheme," he said. Since its inception in 2018, the iDEX has signed