Guide 03 Indigenisation and Make in India
What is the Technology Development Fund, and who can apply?
The Technology Development Fund is a Ministry of Defence scheme, run by DRDO, that funds Indian MSMEs and startups to develop components, products, systems and technologies for defence use. It covers up to 90 percent of project cost and, since June 2022, funds up to Rs 50 crore per project, up from Rs 10 crore earlier.
- Topic
- Indigenisation and Make in India
- Checked
- 23 September 2026
- Sources
- 2
- Questions
- 5
01
What TDF pays for, and how much
TDF funds the indigenous development of components, products, systems and technologies by MSMEs and startups, covering up to 90 percent of project cost. Since June 2022 the per-project ceiling has stood at Rs 50 crore, raised from the earlier Rs 10 crore limit, and applicants may form a consortium with other industry partners or academic institutions rather than developing alone.
02
Who can apply
TDF is aimed at Indian MSMEs and startups, which may partner with other industry or academic institutions as part of a consortium while remaining the lead applicant. Full current eligibility criteria, including the applicant's registration requirements, are published on DRDO's own TDF site and should be read there before a project proposal is drafted, since scheme guidelines can be revised.
03
The deep-tech top-up
A November 2025 Ministry of Defence backgrounder records a separate Rs 500 crore corpus, approved by the Raksha Mantri, for deep-tech projects as dedicated verticals under the Technology Development Fund. The same backgrounder also mentions a wider Rs 1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation scheme and 15 Defence Industry-Academia Centres of Excellence, which sit alongside TDF as separate routes into funded defence research.
04
Where TDF fits against iDEX and Make-II
TDF, iDEX and Make-II all fund development before an order exists, but they are not interchangeable. TDF is a DRDO-administered grant of up to Rs 50 crore aimed at MSMEs and startups; iDEX runs milestone-based DISC, ADITI and Open Challenge grants up to Rs 25 crore through the Defence Innovation Organisation; Make-II is an industry-funded DAP route with no government money but assured orders on success. A firm developing a defence product should check which route actually matches its funding need rather than assuming they overlap.
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Questions people also ask
What is the Technology Development Fund, and who can apply?
How much can a single project receive from the Technology Development Fund?
TDF covers up to 90 percent of a project's cost, and since June 2022 the fund's per-project ceiling has been Rs 50 crore, raised from the previous Rs 10 crore limit. The exact amount sanctioned for any specific project depends on DRDO's evaluation of the proposal and its cost estimate, not a fixed entitlement.
Can a startup apply to TDF alone, without an industry partner?
Yes. TDF is aimed at Indian MSMEs and startups, which may additionally partner with other industry or academic institutions in a consortium, but a partnership is not mandatory. Read the current scheme guidelines on DRDO's TDF site for the applicant registration conditions that apply at the time of application.
Is there extra funding for deep-tech defence projects beyond the normal TDF ceiling?
Yes. A November 2025 Ministry of Defence backgrounder records a Rs 500 crore corpus, approved by the Raksha Mantri, for deep-tech projects as separate verticals under TDF. The same backgrounder also references a Rs 1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation scheme and 15 Defence Industry-Academia Centres of Excellence as related, separate routes.
What is the difference between TDF and iDEX funding?
TDF is a DRDO-run grant of up to Rs 50 crore per project, covering up to 90 percent of cost, aimed at MSMEs and startups. iDEX runs milestone-based grants through DISC, ADITI and Open Challenge, up to Rs 1.5 crore for DISC and Open Challenge and up to Rs 25 crore for ADITI, under a SPARK grant agreement. Which one to apply to depends on the project's scale and stage.
What are Defence Industry-Academia Centres of Excellence?
Defence Industry-Academia Centres of Excellence are DRDO-linked centres connecting universities, startups and industry on defence research. A Ministry of Defence backgrounder of November 2025 counts 15 of them nationally. For an engineering student or an academic partner, they are a route into funded defence research alongside TDF itself; check DRDO's site for the current host institutions.
Checked against
Sources
- 01Technology Development Fund ceiling raised to Rs 50 crore, Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Defence
- 02Defence production and innovation backgrounder, November 2025, Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Defence
This guide explains how the system works in general, as the documents above describe it, and was last checked on 23 September 2026. Rules and thresholds change: the governing document is the authority, not this page.
On this site
Where this meets the work
- How indigenisation works here
- The indigenisation service
- The two type approvals on record
- Defence contract works
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