Think Out-Of-The-Box To Disrupt Defence Sector: Rajnath Singh To Founders

Defence minister Rajnath Singh has urged Indian startups and young entrepreneurs to come up with out-of-the-box ideas and latest innovations to disrupt the Indian defence space.

Speaking at an event in New Delhi, Singh assured the government’s full support to the Indian startup ecosystem and other private players to make India an innovation and technology hub in the field of defence. 

“… It is heartening to witness our scientists, industrialists, academia, startups, MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) and young entrepreneurs working together in this endeavour. It is time for the private sector to take lead as it has the ability to absorb rapid changes and create new innovations,” Singh said.

Lauding India’s defence tech startups, the Minister said that new-age tech companies are akin to “brave soldiers” and “warriors”, prepared to complete every assigned task. He also emphasised the need to advance both incremental and disruptive technologies within the defence sector. 

At the event, the defence minister unveiled the fifth edition of Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) “Dare To Dream” initiative, which will look to incubate cutting-edge indigenous technologies in the defence sector. 

The event also saw the minister throwing open several challenges focussed on the deeptech sector to advance areas critical to the country’s defence infrastructure. These include: 

• Compact electromechanical actuators
• Development of indigenous thrusters for yard craft
• Development of high purity silicon carbide (SiC) source powder for the bulk growth of SiC single crystal
• Deeptech for high power microwaves (HPM) counter measures and protection
• Development of a digital twin framework for aero gas turbine engine health and usage monitoring

He also felicitated the winners of the fourth edition of “Dare to Dream 4.0” programme, which saw companies develop innovative products in the space of advanced acoustic system, directed energy technologies, cognitive listening device, target seeking and proximity sensing, among others. 

The defence ministry also released the amended standard operating procedures for technology development fund (TDF), which is expected to simplify the process for startups and MSMEs to collaborate with the DRDO. 

“These updated procedures are designed to foster a more transparent and streamlined approach for innovators, enabling easier access to opportunities for contributing to national defence projects,” the ministry said in a statement. 

It is pertinent to note that under the TDF initiative, the Centre offers grants of up to 90% of the total project cost to eligible industries. The support is capped at INR 50 Cr. Since its launch in 2018, 79 projects have been sanctioned under TDF, of which technologies have successfully been developed in 18 projects.

The development comes at a time when India’s defence tech sector is witnessing healthy growth and investor interest on the back of the government’s push for indigenisation of defence procurement. 

For context, India was reportedly the fourth largest military spender in the world in 2023 at $83.6 Bn, after the US, China and Russia. However, the country is heavily dependent on exports, which eats up a big portion of India’s foreign reserves. 

In a bid to offset that, the Centre has actively pushed Indian startups to develop defence technologies locally to reduce the over dependence on foreign suppliers and allay national security concerns. 

Owing to this, investors are actively lining up for the homegrown defence tech ecosystem. In July, former defence secretary Ajay Kumar-led MountTech Growth Fund marked the first close of INR 250 Cr fund at over 100% of its targeted corpus.

Earlier this week, defence tech startup Optimized Electrotech received a grant of INR 25 Cr from the Indian government. In September, defence-focussed deeptech startup Big Bang Boom Solutions secured $30 Mn in an undisclosed funding round from a clutch of investors.