The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set up three cutting-edge testing facilities in Chennai as part of the Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor. These facilities will focus on Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), Electronic Warfare (EW), and Electro-Optics (EO) domains. The exchange of the MoU took place today between high-ranking officials of the MoD and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Limited in the presence of Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane in New Delhi under the Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS). This significant agreement marks an important step towards bolstering defence capabilities, and the Defence Ministry has officially confirmed the signing of the MoU for these three facilities in Tamil Nadu.
@DefProdnIndia signed MoU with @TNdefence in presence of Def Secy Shri @giridhararamane today. It aims to set up testing infrastructure in Tamil Nadu by @keltronofficial, @BEL_CorpCom & @iol_pro by June 2025 under Defence Infrastructure Testing Scheme (#DTIS)#AatmanirbharBharat pic.twitter.com/LURjOrITDM
— A. Bharat Bhushan Babu (@SpokespersonMoD) July 2, 2024
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched the Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS) in May 2020 with an outlay of Rs 400 crore. According to the official statement, the scheme aims to establish state-of-the-art testing facilities in collaboration with the private industry and central/state governments to promote indigenous defence production, reduce military equipment imports, and enhance self-reliance. As part of this initiative, seven testing facilities were approved to boost the defence and aerospace sectors within the Defence Industrial Corridors, with four in Tamil Nadu and three in Uttar Pradesh.
The Defence Testing and Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS) offers government funding up to 75% as a ‘Grant-in-Aid’, with the remaining 25% contributed by Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) involving Indian private entities and state/central governments. For the UAS testing facility, Keltron, a government undertaking in Kerala, leads the SPV, with several private sector companies serving as crucial consortium members. Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and India Optel Limited (IOL) are the lead SPV members in the EW and EO testing facilities, respectively.
The Ministry reaffirmed that upon the completion of the project, advanced testing equipment and services would be provided to both government and private industry, significantly boosting ‘Atmanirbharta’ (self-reliance) in defence. It underlines the government’s unwavering commitment to this objective.
Team BharatShakti
