Technology Development Fund (TDF) was established to promote self-reliance in Defence Technology by the Ministry of Defence as a part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative. The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) runs the scheme to meet the requirements of the three Services, Defence Production and DRDO. The Scheme is an incentive for participation of public/private industries, especially MSMEs and startups, and create an ecosystem for developing cutting-edge technology capability in the defence sector.
The Raksha Rajya Mantri (RRM) Shri Sanjay Seth apprised the Lok Sabha of the following details in a written reply, today.
Since January 2023, a total sum of Rs 120 crore has been allocated and Rs 43.89 crore has been disbursed as grant-in-aid to the industries under the Technology Development Fund (TDF) Scheme, and 16 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) & 20 start-ups have been supported under the TDF Scheme since January 2022.
During the last five years, 42 projects of cost Rs 182.41 crore to MSMEs and 25 projects of cost Rs 59.47 crore to start-ups have been sanctioned under the TDF scheme. As of now, 26 technologies have been successfully developed. The details of these technologies were also spelt out in the RRM’s response.
Team BharatShakti
(With Inputs from a Release)
