‘Pvt sector, startups key to India’s defence R&D push’

Multi-pronged strategy adopted to promote innovation, and accelerate India’s journey towards defence self-reliance

- SIMONTINI BHATTACHARJEE

Against the backdrop of increasing defence production and expenditure, amid cross-border tensions and turmoil in global geopolitics, the Union government informed Parliament on Monday that a multi-pronged strategy has been adopted to deepen industry participation, promote innovation, and further accelerate India’s journey towards self-reliance in defence technologies.

Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth, in a written reply to a question by Rajya Sabha MP S Selvaganabathy, said the government has drawn up a comprehensive framework of policy measures and financial commitments to substantially strengthen research and development in defence manufacturing. Central to this endeavour is the Development-cum-Production Partner model of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which invites participation by both public and private sector entities in the manufacture of defence systems through competitive selection. In this model, manufacturing technologies developed by DRDO are transferred to the selected partners for meeting production requirements, thus offering the twin advantages of speedy induction while stimulating indigenisation and expanding domestic industrial capability.