- 09 Jun 2022
- ICICIdirect Research
GOVERNMENT SCALES UP DRDO’S TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT FUND
News: The government has approved scaling up of the funding under the DRDO’s Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme to Rs. 50 crore a project from Rs. 10 crore, to widen support to indigenous development of components, products, systems and technologies by MSMEs and start-ups
Views: In order to increase indigenisation of defence equipments, the TDF scheme aims to provide a major boost to the defence manufacturing sector by encouraging the MSMEs & Start-ups to innovate and develop defence technologies. We believe that scaling up of funding to MSMEs/Start-ups will further accelerate the efforts for indigenous defence R&D projects and will ease the overall supply chain challenges in terms of sourcing components which are currently being imported. Even in the FY23 budget, apart from increasing capital budget allocation for DRDO, the government allocated 25% of defence procurement budget for engagement of private players, MSMEs & start-ups to enhance defence R&D
Impact: Positive