From opening up 25 per cent of the defence R&D budget to private players and academia, to giving Indian firms free access to DRDO-developed technologies and patents, the government has taken steps to enhance R&D in defence manufacturing. In a written reply Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth said the government has been promoting public and private sector partnerships in defence industries by various initiatives. He has listed several such initiatives.
These include:
Development cum Production Partner (DcPPs)/ Production Agency (PAs), including private industries: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has implemented the DcPP model to identify potential manufacturing agencies through a competitive process involving both public and private sector players and transfer the manufacturing technology to meet production requirements.
Transfer of Technology (ToT) to Industries: DRDO has developed a pool of 2,000 industries to manufacture sub-systems, systems and equipment. The organisation has transferred these technologies for free to DcPPs and PAs. Besides, consultancy services of DRDO scientists to industry too has been made available.
DRDO Patents: The policy for free use of DRDO patents by Indian industries has been implemented.
Technology Development Fund (TDF): This is a programme of the defence ministry executed by DRDO to encourage participation of public/ private industries, especially micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)/start-ups and to promote self-reliance in defence technology as part of the Make-in-India initiative. The minister noted that the projects sanctioned through TDF have also seen a lot of successes, with 26 technologies successfully developed and two of the project systems flown in Space as part of PSLV mission. Besides, Rs. 500 crore has been additionally sanctioned towards the TDF scheme with a focus on deep-tech and cutting-edge technologies.
New start-up policy: DRDO is coming up with a new policy to facilitate easier interaction with emerging start-ups. The policy aims to streamline the process of engaging with start-ups and leveraging their innovative ideas for defence applications.
Dare to Dream: Four Dare to Dream contests have been successfully conducted. The contest is aimed at creating an ecosystem to foster innovation and technology development in defence and aerospace by engaging start-ups and individual innovators, and encouraging them to carry out R&D development.
Test Facility support to Industries: Several world-class R&D test facilities in DRDO labs have now been opened for industries, and the necessary SOPs have been formulated. Test facilities of 24 DRDO labs have been uploaded on the Defence Testing Portal (DTP), a platform of MoD for offering the ministry’s test infrastructure to defence industries in a more transparent manner.
Interaction with Industries: Industry Interaction Groups (IIGs) have been established in labs to facilitate industries.
25 per cent Defence R&D Budget opened up for Industry, Start-ups and Academia: 25 per cent of the defence R&D budget has been opened up for industry, start-ups and academia based on Budget 2022-23 announcements.
Extramural Research: The aim of extramural research is to develop essential knowledge and capabilities in the areas of critical defence technologies, establish a network with researchers, develop highly skilled human resources and augment research infrastructures in Indian academic institutions/ research centres to support the evolving Defence R&D ecosystem in the country.
DRDO-Industry-Academia Centres of Excellence (DIA-CoE): DRDO has a policy and mechanism for collaborative directed research in developing critical and futuristic technologies for defence and security applications through a network of DRDO Industry Academia - Centre of Excellence (DIA-CoE). A total of 15 DIA-CoEs have been established, which are steering translational research activities in nearly 82 identified research verticals.
Defence Industry Corridors: DRDO is supporting Uttar Pradesh Industrial Corridor and Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor by collaborating with Industries as a knowledge partner. The corridors have been established to achieve ‘Aatmanirbharta’ and to realise the goal of ‘Make in India’.
Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX): An innovation ecosystem for defence titled iDEX was launched in April 2018 to foster innovation and technology development in defence and aerospace by engaging industries, including start-ups/MSMEs/ individual innovators, R&D institutes and academia. iDEX iDEX provides grants/ funding and other support to iDEX winners to carry out R&D.
