DRDO Technology Development Fund Scheme
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.
