DRDO Technology Development Fund Scheme

Technology Development Fund Scheme has been established to promote self-reliance in Defence Technology as a part of the 'Make in India' initiative. This program is executed by the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) to meet the requirements of the Tri-Services, Defence Production, and DRDO. The Scheme encourages the participation of public/private industries, especially MSMEs and startups, to create an ecosystem for enhancing cutting-edge technology capability in the defense sector.

The objective of the Scheme

The TDF scheme aims to provide a major fillip to the defense manufacturing sector by encouraging the industry to innovate on defense technologies, to place India on the self-reliance trajectory.

Eligibility Criteria

The eligibility criteria for the DRDO Technology Development Fund Scheme are as follows:

The industry must be a public limited company, a private limited company, a partnership firm, a limited liability partnership, one-person company, sole proprietorship registered as per applicable Indian laws
The industry must be an MSME or a startup, registered in India
The industry must be owned and controlled by a Resident Indian citizen
Industries with foreign investments of 49% or less

Benefits to the Industry

In addition to providing grants-in-aid for the development of indigenous technology, the Scheme also provides the industry with the following benefits.

Joint ownership of IPR along with DRDO
Sales opportunity to primes as subcontractors
Licensing of the product/technology for commercial gains
Export opportunities
Direct channel of sales in the private marketplace for the development of dual-use technology and spin-offs

Features of the scheme

Promoting Self-Reliance In Defence Technology: Established to promote self-reliance in Defence Technology as a part of the Make in India initiative.
A Ministry Of Defence Initiative: Program of MoD (Ministry of Defence) executed by DRDO, meeting the requirements of Tri-Services, Defence Production, and DRDO.
Boost To MSMEs And Startups: Encourages participation of public/private industries especially MSMEs and Startups to create an ecosystem for enhancing cutting-edge technology capabilities for defense application
10 Crores Funding: Funding to be covered through the provision of grants-in-aid to the industry. The project cost of upto INR 10 Cr will be considered for funding, subject to a maximum of 90% of the total project cost.
Duration/Timeline: 2 Years: Limited to the development of technologies or prototype of the product having potential use for the Services with a typical development period of two years.

Focus Area

The focus area of the Technology Development Fund Scheme is as follows:

Significant up-gradation/improvements/ developments in the existing products/processes/applications
Technology readiness level up-gradation from TRL 3 onwards to the realization of products as per Tri-Services requirements
Development of futuristic technologies/innovative products which can be useful for defense applications
Import substitution of components whose technologies do not exist in the Indian industry
The scheme will be limited to the development of technologies or prototypes of products having potential use for National Defence

Funding Support

The funding under the Technology Development Fund Scheme will be through the provision of grants to the Industry. The project cost of up to Rs.10 Crore will be considered for funding, subject to a maximum of 90% of the total project cost.

The industry may work in collaboration with academia or research institutions
The work involvement of academia cannot exceed 40% of the total project cost

The funding will be linked to mutually agreed-on milestones. Funds will be released either in advance against a bank guarantee of the same amount as collateral, or reimbursement based on the completion of milestones Subsequent installments will be released on successful completion of milestones

Scheme Validity

As part of the Technology Development Fund Scheme, DRDO is providing a maximum development period of two years

Criteria for selection

A three-tier evaluation and assessment will be done based on the following parameters:

Design capability
Fabrication and manufacturing capability
Maintainability and life cycle support
Commercial viability
Capacity and profile of the company

Documents Required

The following documents need to be submitted as Part of Responses to EoI:

Latest Certificate of Incorporation by the Registrar of Companies (RoC)
Latest Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association of the Company
Details of the Directors, Managing Director, and Manager of the Company
The complete address of the registered office of the company
Documents submitted to the RoC for the last five consecutive years:
- Annual Return with attachments.
- A balance sheet with attachments.
- Profit and Loss account with attachments
- Compliance certificate with attachments.
- Auditor’s Report
- Director’s Report
Auditor certified data of the company for last 5 years (since incorporation, in case of the company was incorporated in last five years)
Income Tax Return filed for last five years (since incorporation in case company was incorporated in last five year), and latest valid Income Tax Clearance Certificate (ITCC) with details of turnover
ISO certification document
Patent/IPR certificates
Details of international standards acquired like CMM software certification, with validity and certification agency.
Copy of Association of Persons (AOP) Agreement
The company should possess or be in the process of acquiring a license/ development of products if the product under project requires a license as per DIPP’s licensing policy
Details of the company organization, Management Structure, Capabilities, Infrastructure, and Key personnel involved in executing the project
Details of any earlier partnership with DRDO/PSU/DPSU
Certificate regarding clause wise acceptance of all terms and conditions given in the EoI, for the complete lifetime of the project
Technical specifications of the equipment proposed to be used in the project

TDF Scheme Application Procedure

The application process for the TDF Scheme is completely digitized.

Every interested Industry /Technology expert/Academia must first register on the TDF portal.
On receiving a verification link, they must verify themselves, complete their profile and submit the same for approval.
Once the profiles are approved by the TDF admin panel, the respective industry can look at the projects it wishes to apply for.
A detailed step-by-step guide on the process of applying for projects is also provided in Documentation.