New Delhi, 19 March 2026: Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurated the 2-day National Defence Industries Conclave in Delhi, launching DISC-14, ADITI challenges, and 101 innovation challenges from DPSUs.
He stressed building a drone production ecosystem for strategic autonomy and Aatmanirbhar Bharat. Raksha Mantri also released five publications: SAMARTHYA 2026, Indian Defence Industry – Going Global, SANKLAN, Enabling Provisions to integrate MSMEs in Defence PSU ecosystem, and AI Maturity Assessment Model.
As of February 2026, approx. 676 start-ups, MSMEs, and individual innovators have joined the defence innovation ecosystem. 548 contracts have been signed & 566 challenges have been launched. Of these, 58 prototypes have received clearance for procurement, worth nearly Rs 3,853 crore. Furthermore, 45 procurement contracts have already been signed, valued at around Rs 2,326 crore.
These figures demonstrate that innovation is gradually materialising into tangible products and technologies, and the role played by our start-ups and MSME in this transformation is steadily gaining strength: Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh at National Defence Industries Conclave 2026.
