Miscellaneous Schemes under Ministry of Defence

Technology Development Fund (TDF) Scheme

• Background:
  This is a flagship programme of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under the Make in India initiative.
• Objectives:
  1. Provide Grant-in-Aid to Indian industries (MSMEs, Start-ups), and even academic/scientific institutions, for developing defence and dual-use technologies that India does not yet have.
  2. Create a bridge between Armed Forces, research organisations, academia, and private sector.
  3. Convert futuristic technologies with Proof of Concept into prototypes.
• Corpus: ₹100 crore.
• Funding Enhancement: Earlier the cap was ₹10 crore, but now the Ministry of Defence has enhanced it to ₹50 crore per project.

👉 In short, the TDF scheme ensures India’s industries and researchers create new defence technologies indigenously.

Defence Testing Infrastructure (DTI) Scheme

• Aim: To boost domestic defence and aerospace manufacturing by creating state-of-the-art testing facilities in partnership with the private sector.
• Implementation:
  • About 6–8 Greenfield DTI facilities will be set up for aerospace and defence testing.
  • These facilities will be developed under Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), consisting of private industries and state governments.
• Financial Assistance:
  • Government will provide up to 75% funding as Grant-in-Aid.
  • The remaining 25% project cost will be borne by the SPVs.
  • SPVs will be registered under the Companies Act, 2013.

👉 This scheme essentially provides the testing backbone for indigenous defence production.

One Rank One Pension (OROP)

• Aim: To ensure that armed forces personnel retiring with the same rank and same length of service receive the same pension, regardless of when they retired.
• Coverage:
  • Applicable to all armed forces personnel retired up to June 30, 2019, including war widows and disabled pensioners.
  • Excludes personnel who voluntarily retire.
• Future Updates: Pension will be revised every 5 years.
• Context: Before OROP, ex-servicemen’s pensions depended on the Pay Commission recommendations valid at their retirement time, which created disparities.

👉 OROP corrects that disparity and ensures fairness among pensioners of the same rank and service length.

National Integration Tour

• Purpose: These are educational and motivational tours for youth, especially from Jammu & Kashmir and the North-Eastern States.
• Features:
  • Provide exposure to the rich heritage of India.
  • Introduce participants to developmental and industrial initiatives.
  • Enable interaction with renowned personalities, giving career guidance and national integration exposure.

👉 This scheme is more social in nature—strengthening emotional integration of border-state youth with the rest of India.

Mission Raksha Gyan Shakti

• Aim: To inculcate a culture of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in the Indian defence manufacturing ecosystem.
• Significance:
  • Protects innovative technologies developed in India.
  • Encourages a culture of patents, trademarks, and IPR awareness within the defence sector.

👉 This scheme ensures India doesn’t just produce but also owns the rights to defence technologies it develops.