India's defence and space agencies are accelerating the transfer of proven technologies to private firms, aiming to scale domestic manufacturing while freeing DRDO and ISRO scientists for frontier research.

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• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved the transfer of all DRDO-developed conventional missile technologies to qualified private companies for domestic production on August 25, 2026.
• The move ends the long-standing near-monopoly held by state-owned Bharat Dynamics Limited, letting private firms act as prime integrators of missile systems for the first time.
• Technologies covered range from short-range air-defence missiles to systems striking targets hundreds of kilometres away, with partners chosen through competitive bidding.
• DRDO has transferred more than 2,200 technologies to private players over the past 12 years as part of wider defence-sector reforms.
• India's indigenous defence production rose from Rs 46,429 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 1.78 lakh crore in 2025-26, with exports growing to Rs 38,424 crore across 80-plus countries.
• At the VIMARSH 2026 industry-synergy meet in New Delhi, DRDO handed nine Licensing Agreements for Transfer of Technology to 13 partner firms, including Bharat Dynamics and Apollo Micro Systems.
• DRDO's Vehicles Research and Development Establishment separately transferred nine land-systems technologies to ten companies, including a CBRN reconnaissance vehicle licensed to Bharat Electronics.
• By December 2025, around 2,000 Indian companies were assessed as capable of manufacturing DRDO-developed defence systems.
• In the space sector, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited won manufacturing and marketing rights to ISRO's Small Satellite Launch Vehicle through open competition against rival private bidders.
• India's space economy, valued at roughly Rs 70,000 crore today, is projected to grow to Rs 3.3-3.7 lakh crore by 2030, a scale ISRO says it cannot reach alone.
• India had just one registered space startup in 2014; by August 2026 that number had grown to around 440, reflecting the reforms' early traction.
• Officials describe both efforts as capacity expansion rather than privatisation, with the government retaining intellectual property and control over sensitive exports.