Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday stressed the importance of adopting unconventional ideas, unseen by the world, as the only path to success in modern unconventional warfare. He called on the private sector to move beyond mere ‘participation’ to ‘taking lead’ in the defence sector, assuring full government support.

Singh addressed a diverse audience of scientists, industry leaders, academia, start-ups, MSMEs, and young entrepreneurs during Twaral, a DRDO-Industry Workshop on Defence Technology Acceleration held at DRDO Bhawan. Stressing the need for India to become a hub of innovation and technology, Singh noted that technological advancements have reshaped conventional warfare into unconventional forms.

“New dimensions have been added to modern-day warfare such as drones, cyber warfare, bio-weapons, and space defence. In this transformative phase, R&D in defence will definitely make the defence sector stronger. It is heartening to witness our scientists, industrialists, academia, start-ups, MSMEs, and young entrepreneurs working together in this endeavour. It is time for the private sector to take the lead as it can absorb rapid changes and create new innovations,” he stated.

Highlighting government initiatives, Singh pointed out the consistent efforts made by DRDO to bolster the R&D environment. The Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme, which provides up to 90% of project costs to eligible industries, has been a key initiative. Since its inception, 79 projects have been sanctioned, with 18 successfully delivering new technologies.

During the event, the Defence Minister also launched ‘Dare to Dream 5.0’, the fifth edition of DRDO’s innovation contest, encouraging start-ups and innovators to propose transformative ideas for defence applications.

Singh urged the private sector to keep pace with rapid global technological changes and ensure timely assessment to prevent technologies from becoming outdated. He called for more cutting-edge projects under TDF and a thorough scan to avoid duplicating technologies.

Several indigenous technologies developed under the TDF scheme were also handed over to DRDO and the armed forces, including Autonomous Drone as the first responder for search and report missions in enclosed/indoor environments by NewSpace Research and Technology Pvt Ltd to CAIR, DRDO; Simulator for Unmanned Ground, Marine (Sea Surface and Underwater) and Aerial Vehicles by Combat Robotics India Pvt Ltd to CAIR, DRDO, Data Assessment Active Learning, and Believability for Visual Data to CAIR, DRDO, and Aero Gas Turbine Engine Health Monitoring System by Chistats Labs Pvt Ltd to GTRE, DRDO, Design, and Development of Water Tight/Gavbns Tight and Fire Class EMI/EMC compliant doors and hatches for Naval Ships by Valdel Advanced Technologies Pvt Ltd. to Indian Navy, and Fuel System Temperature Transducer for Aircraft Application by Tejase Aeroscience Private Ltd Mumbai to ADA.