Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday (September 15, 2026) unveiled a set of policy initiatives aimed at lowering technical and financial barriers for MSMEs and deep-tech start-ups seeking to participate in defence research, development and manufacturing.
Mr. Unveiling the initiatives at ‘VIMARSH 2026’, a DRDO-Industry Synergy Meet, Mr. Singh said India’s goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047 would require self-reliance in critical technologies, higher indigenous content, a significant expansion of defence exports and a stronger presence in global supply chains.
Singh said the collaboration between the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and industry should extend beyond production to the entire technology value chain, including research, design, testing, certification and manufacturing.
He said the Government’s measures, including the Positive Indigenisation Lists, Make in India, iDEX, ADITI and allocation of 25% of the defence R&D budget to the private sector, had created a broader ecosystem for defence innovation. Defence Secretary and DRDO chairman Rajesh Kumar Singh said VIMARSH 2026, themed ‘Varta se Vikas’, was intended to move the defence ecosystem from a transactional buyer-seller relationship towards a collaborative technology-development model. He said more than 2,300 technology transfers had so far been handed over to over 1,100 industries. Technologies relating to around 50 DRDO-developed missiles have also been made available to industry.
“Companies that invest in new and emerging technologies today will become the leaders of tomorrow,” he said, stressing that future warfare would be shaped by technological superiority.
