Technology Development Fund (TDF) Scheme

Technology Development Fund (TDF) has been established to promote self-reliance in Defence Technology as a part of the 'Make in India' initiative. It is a programme of the Ministry of Defence. This programme is executed by the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) to meet the requirements of the Tri-Services, Defence Production and DRDO. The Scheme encourages participation of public/private industries, especially MSMEs and startups, so as to create an ecosystem for enhancing cutting-edge technology capability in the defence sector. > Objective: - The Scheme aims to provide a major fillip to the defence manufacturing sector by encouraging the industry to innovate on defence technologies, in order to place India on the self-reliance trajectory. In addition to providing the grants-in-aid for the development of indigenous technology, the Scheme also provides the industry with various benefits. > Vision: Building an ecosystem for enhancing cutting-edge technology capability for defence manufacturing to meet the requirements of Tri-Services, Defence Production and DRDO. > Mission: Creating an ecosystem for promoting self-reliance by building indigenous state-of-the-art systems for defence applications. > Project Duration: Maximum development period will be four (4) years. > Focus Areas: - Significant upgradation/ improvements/developments in the existing products/processes/applications. - Technology readiness level upgradation from TRL 3 onwards to realization of products as per Tri-Services requirements. - Development of futuristic technologies/innovative products which can be useful for defence applications. - Import substitution of components whose technologies do not exist in the Indian industry. - The scheme will be limited to development of technologies or prototypes of products having potential use for National Defence.