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Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh has approved the transfer of DRDO-developed technologies of ALL conventional missile systems to the Indian defence industry for production within the country.
The transfer is subject to applicable qualifications, certifications and regulatory requirements, and is intended to move missile systems from development into industrial production.
The Ministry of Defence states the objective as enhancing domestic manufacturing capability, strengthening the defence industrial base, and creating supply-chain opportunities for Indian MSMEs and other technology partners.
The stated aims are to enhance operational capability, reduce import dependence and raise domestic value addition, with DRDO continuing to work with industry on the transfer and absorption of the technologies.
India's premier defence R&D agency; designs and develops missiles, aeronautical, naval, electronic and combat systems, and transfers the resulting technology to production agencies and private industry.
The lead DRDO laboratory for missile development; it was the lead agency for the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme.
The India-Russia joint venture that develops and produces the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, launchable from land, sea, air and submarine platforms.
Owns the indigenisation policy framework — the Positive Indigenisation Lists and the Defence Acquisition Procedure — under which a transfer like this converts into orders.
Develop a family of indigenous guided missiles covering surface-to-surface, surface-to-air and anti-tank roles.
Key: Sanctioned by the Union Cabinet in 1983 and led by Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, with DRDL Hyderabad as lead agency. It covered Prithvi, Agni, Akash, Nag and Trishul, and was concluded in 2008. The decision that all conventional missile technologies now pass to industry is the production-side sequel to that development-side programme.
Bring industry into a DRDO project from the start of the development cycle rather than at the end.
Key: A DRDO policy for selecting the partner for DRDO-developed systems; by involving the manufacturer during development it shortens the development-to-induction cycle, since production engineering does not begin only after the design is frozen.
Ban the import of listed defence items beyond a notified timeline so that they must be sourced from Indian industry.
Key: The first list was promulgated on 21 August 2020, followed by successive lists for the Services and separate lists for Defence Public Sector Undertakings. Items on the lists are procured from indigenous sources as provided in the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020.
Govern how the Ministry of Defence acquires equipment, with categories weighted towards indigenous design, development and manufacture.
Key: The procedural framework under which items on the Positive Indigenisation Lists are procured domestically; it is the document that converts an indigenisation intention into a procurement category.
Transfer of Technology means handing over the design, process knowledge, drawings, test protocols and manufacturing know-how of a system so that another entity can build it. The harder half is absorption — the recipient must be able to reproduce the system reliably, meet qualification and certification standards, and eventually modify it. This is why the release pairs 'transfer' with 'absorption' and commits DRDO to continue working with industry after the handover: a set of drawings without the process knowledge behind them produces neither capability nor cost saving. Absorption is also what distinguishes genuine indigenisation from screwdriver assembly, where imported kits are merely bolted together domestically and the value addition stays abroad.
Simple Analogy: Transfer is being given the recipe. Absorption is being able to cook the dish reliably in your own kitchen, source the ingredients locally, and eventually adjust the recipe — which is a much larger undertaking than receiving the sheet of paper.
The release frames the decision explicitly as a step towards Aatmanirbharta. Read it alongside the Positive Indigenisation Lists, which close the import route, and DAP 2020, which supplies the procurement categories — the three together are demand, procedure and now supply-side capability.
Missile manufacture is an assembly of many precision subsystems, so widening the technology base creates orders below the prime contractor. This is the specific mechanism by which defence indigenisation is expected to reach small manufacturers.
A domestic production base for missile systems is the precondition for exporting them. India's missile export experience so far has centred on BrahMos, produced by the India-Russia joint venture rather than under a DRDO-to-industry transfer.
The 1983 programme created the designs; this decision addresses who builds them. Studying the two together is the cleanest way to hold the missile syllabus — Prithvi, Agni, Akash, Nag and Trishul on the development side, industry participation on the production side.
GS Paper 3 > Science and Technology > Indigenisation of Technology; Internal Security > Defence Production
General Awareness > Defence Organisations and Missile Systems
General Awareness > Defence and Science
General Awareness > Current Affairs
High — DRDO, the IGMDP missile family and defence indigenisation policy are recurring subjects in UPSC Prelims, defence examinations and SSC general awareness.
Handing over the design, process knowledge and manufacturing know-how of a system so another entity can produce it.
Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme — sanctioned in 1983, led by Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, covering Prithvi, Agni, Akash, Nag and Trishul; concluded in 2008.
Development cum Production Partner — DRDO's policy of selecting an industry partner at the start of a development project to shorten the development-to-induction cycle.
A list of defence items whose import is barred beyond a notified timeline, so they must be sourced from Indian industry under DAP 2020.
Self-reliance in defence production — the policy framing under which this transfer was approved.