Context:
The Minister of State for Defence, shared that Rs 120 crore has been allocated under the Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme since January 2023, with Rs 43.89 crore disbursed as grant-in-aid to industries.
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- In the last five years, a total of 42 projects costing Rs 182.41 crore have been approved for MSMEs and 25 projects worth Rs 59.47 crore have been approved for start-ups.
- The TDF scheme has supported 16 MSMEs and 20 startups since January 2022, promoting the development of Indigenous defence technologies.
- The Scheme promotes self-reliance in defence technology as part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative managed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and supported by the Ministry of Defence.
- The scheme aims to meet the needs of the armed forces, defence production and DRDO.
- It encourages public and private industries, particularly MSMEs, to boost R&D and develop cutting-edge defence technologies.
- The scheme is implemented by the Global Innovation & Technology Alliance (GITA), a non-profit Public-Private Partnership (PPP) founded by the Technology Development Board (TDB), Department of Science & Technology (DST) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
- It covers 90% of the project cost and supports the development process, including handling setbacks.
- The scheme brings together key stakeholders, such as end users, designers, developers, mentors, and quality assurance teams.
- Once a product is developed, it is classified as a Buy-Indian IDDM product, receiving priority in procurement, with shared intellectual property rights between the industry and DRDO.