DRDO plans venture fund for defence startups

Hyderabad: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the premier defence organisation of central government, is keen on setting up an exclusive central fund with an initial corpus of Rs 100-200 crore for supporting startups and smaller units in the areas of research, development and production in defence sector.

The organisation is also looking to establish ten centres of technology across the country over next five years. To be set up at premier technical institutions, these centres will allow students in specialised fields to work on various defence-related research projects.

"I think there is a need for supporting startups. A lot of talent is there but they don't have incubation centres. They can develop an idea but to sustain that idea till it becomes a mature product, they require some funding support,” Avinash Chander, Director General, DRDO, told media here on the sidelines of the Defence & Aerosupply India conclave being organized by Telangana government. The three-day conclave concluded on Friday. He further said such a funding would help upcoming industrialists in a big way as it would accelerate their growth. To begin with, the fund can be in the range of Rs 100 to Rs 200 crore.

On the proposed centres of technology, he said the DRDO was planning to allocate Rs 500 crore every year for them. Initially, two centres will come at IITs in Mumbai and Chennai. In these centre, students of PhD and M Tech will work on various advanced defence technologies in the areas of robotics, aeronautics and directed energy weapons. The initial intake at each of the centres will be around 500, he added. On the upcoming Rs 1,500-crore missile testing centre at Nagayalanka in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh, he said the project was awaiting environmental clearances. The centre which will have testing and launch pad facilities will come up on 250 acres.