(MENAFN- KNN India) New Delhi, Dec 1 (KNN) Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth on Monday listed out several measures taken by the Government to enhance research and development (R&D) and collaboration in defence manufacturing.

The initiatives aim to promote self-reliance, foster innovation, and strengthen partnerships between public and private sectors, start-ups, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), and academia.

The Minister in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha said that Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has implemented the Development cum Production Partner (DcPP) and Production Agency (PA) models to identify potential manufacturing partners through competitive processes and transfer technology to meet production requirements.

In addition, DRDO has established a pool of around 2,000 industries to manufacture sub-systems, systems, and equipment, transferring technologies at zero fee and providing consultancy support from DRDO scientists.

A policy allowing free access to DRDO patents for Indian industries has also been implemented.

The Technology Development Fund (TDF), executed by DRDO, encourages participation of public and private industries, including MSMEs and start-ups, under the Make-in-India initiative.

A corpus of Rs 500 crore has been sanctioned for TDF, with projects supporting the development of 26 technologies and two systems successfully flown as part of PSLV missions.

DRDO is also finalising a Start-up Policy to streamline engagement with emerging start-ups and leverage innovative ideas for defence applications.

Innovation-focused initiatives include the Dare to Dream contests, designed to foster innovation in defence and aerospace, and iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence), launched in 2018 to support start-ups, MSMEs, and individual innovators with grants and R&D funding.

Test facilities across 24 DRDO labs have been opened to industries, with Standard Operating Procedures published on the Defence Testing Portal to facilitate access. Industry Interaction Groups (IIGs) have been established to strengthen collaboration.

The Government has opened 25 per cent of the Defence R&D budget for industry, start-ups, and academia, and is promoting extramural research to build critical capabilities and networks within academic institutions.

Additionally, DRDO-Industry-Academia Centres of Excellence (DIA-CoEs) have been established, with 15 centres driving translational research across 82 research verticals.

To support domestic defence manufacturing, DRDO collaborates with industrial corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. It supports the 'Make' procedure under Chapter III of DAP-2020, which facilitates design, development, and manufacturing of defence platforms.

(KNN Bureau)

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