How do iDEX, DISC and ADITI fund defence startups and MSMEs?

iDEX is the overall framework; DISC and ADITI are challenge formats run under it. DISC and Open Challenge grants run up to Rs 1.5 crore. ADITI is reserved for critical and strategic technologies and pays up to Rs 25 crore. In DISC and ADITI the problem statement is set by a Service, the Coast Guard, a DPSU or another nodal agency; in an Open Challenge, the innovator sets it.

Under the SPARK grant agreement, iDEX pays in six milestones: 10 percent at milestone 0, 20 percent at each of milestones 1 to 4, and a final 10 percent at milestone 5. Each release depends on meeting that milestone's deliverables, so cash flow planning has to assume staged payment rather than a lump sum at signing.

No. iDEX's own published guidance states that joint ventures and consortia of companies are not eligible to apply; the grant goes to a single startup, MSME or individual innovator. Firms that want to collaborate typically structure the work as one lead applicant with the other party as a subcontractor or technology partner outside the iDEX agreement itself.

Launched on 19 March 2026, DISC-14 and ADITI 4.0 together carried 107 problem statements, 82 under DISC-14 and 25 under ADITI 4.0, sourced from the defence forces, the Indian Coast Guard and DPSUs. Each edition's statements differ, so check idex.gov.in directly for the currently open list rather than relying on a past edition's numbers.

iDEX's eligibility for MSME applicants follows the standard MSME definition, which in practice means Udyam registration, since that is how MSME status is established in India. Startups instead follow the DPIIT startup definition. Confirm the exact wording against the specific problem statement's eligibility clause, since iDEX sets the applicable criteria challenge by challenge.