Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh announced a series of policy initiatives during VIMARSH, a DRDO-Industry Synergy Meet, aimed at lowering entry barriers for MSMEs and start-ups in defense manufacturing.
On September 15, 2026, Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh unveiled key policy initiatives during 'VIMARSH', a DRDO-Industry Synergy Meet, held in New Delhi. The primary focus of these initiatives is to lower technical and financial entry barriers for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and deep-tech start-ups. These measures include direct funding, incubation support, and dedicated access to DRDO testing facilities. Additionally, a standardised, secure framework for sharing DRDO-developed software source codes with licensee industries was launched to accelerate software-defined defense capabilities and manage obsolescence more effectively.
Nine (09) Licensing Agreements for Transfer of Technology (LAToTS) were handed over to 13 manufacturing partners in the presence of Raksha Mantri, enabling commercial production of state-of-the-art systems. Strategic Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were also exchanged with the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) and Laghu Udyog Bharati (LUB) to expand industry outreach and foster grassroots participation.
In his address, Shri Rajnath Singh emphasised that the DRDO-Industry collaboration should not be limited to production alone but should extend across the entire value chain, encompassing research, design, testing, certification, and manufacturing. He further stated that these four forces – DRDO's knowledge and technology, industry's scale and manufacturing capability, start-ups' innovation and agility, and the youth's dream of a New India – should converge to transform India into a global hub for defense manufacturing.
Shri Rajnath Singh also underscored that the goal of Viksit Bharat is not merely to build an economically strong nation but to also make it technologically self-reliant, socially inclusive, environmentally sustainable, and strategically secure. He added that by 2047, India must achieve Aatmanirbharata in critical technologies, a significant increase in indigenous content, multi-fold growth in defense exports, and a robust presence for India in global supply chains.
Source:
Press Information Bureau
