Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is working in close synchronization with all its stakeholders through its Programmes/ Projects. Accordingly, it has developed, built and upgraded its industrial partner base. Today, over 1000 private industries and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are vital partners in DRDO’s development programmes. This number covers the entire spectrum ranging from Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) and Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) to private industries, all of them have played a crucial role in the development programmes of DRDO.
DRDO has set up specialized centres of technology in select academic institutions of repute to work, e.g. IIT Madras Research Park at Chennai. Directorate of Extramural Research and Intellectual Property Rights (ER&IPR) in DRDO encourage academicians to pursue research in thrust areas through its Grants-in-Aid Scheme. DRDO collaborates with institutions of higher learning in the country such as IIT’s, IISc, NIT’s, R&D Centers, etc, through ER projects. DRDO also collaborates with other Science & Technology (S&T) Organisations, like Department of Space (DoS), Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) for common requirements and applications.
The budgetary allocation by DRDO for Extramural Research for 2016-17 is Rs. 65 Crore.