Science and Technology Part 2: Defence R&D — DRDO, Tejas and the Indigenisation Drive, Exam-Ready Notes

Category: Civil Exams · Series: Science and Technology (GS Paper 3) · Read time: ~9 minutes

Defence-technology questions cluster around three files: the DRDO institution card, the flagship platforms (missiles, Tejas, ships), and the indigenisation-policy stack (positive lists, iDEX, exports). This note assembles all three.

Table of Contents

1. The DRDO Card
2. The Missile Ladder: IGMDP to the Modern Set
3. Tejas and the Air-Platform File
4. The Naval and Land Files
5. The Indigenisation Policy Stack
6. How Exams Probe This Topic
7. Quick Revision: One-Glance Facts

1. The DRDO Card

• The card. DRDO (1958) — ~50 labs nationwide, under the Ministry of Defence, spanning aeronautics to armaments to life sciences; the critique tradition (delays, cost overruns — the “30-year LCA” complaint) balanced by the reform record (the 2020s lab consolidation and the increasing industry-and-startup partnerships).
• The reform frame. The division of labour emerging: DRDO as the deep-tech R&D house, industry (including private majors Tata, L&T, Adani-DRDO partnerships) as the production scale — the direction every mains answer should note.

2. The Missile Ladder: IGMDP to the Modern Set

• The IGMDP legacy (1983, under A.P.J. Kalam). The five: Prithvi (SRBM), Trishul, Akash (the in-service SAM), Nag (ATGM, the Helina variant), Agni — the range ladder culminating in Agni-5 (~5,000+ km) and the 2024 Mission Divyastra — India’s first MIRV test (multiple independently targetable warheads).
• The modern set.**BrahMos — the India-Russia supersonic cruise JV with air/sea/submarine variants, extended range, and the 2022 Philippines export (~$375 million, the first); the K-family SLBMs (K-4 tested from Arihant-class boats — the nuclear triad’s sea leg); Pinaka guided multi-barrel rockets (exported to Armenia); Astra BVR air-to-air; the QRSAM/VL-SRSAM air-defence family; the DRDO’s D4 anti-drone system** — the current-tier answer to the drone threat.
• The import complement. The S-400 (2018 deal, Russian; deliveries 2021-24; the CAATSA question — IR Part 3’s cross-link) alongside the indigenous MRSAM.

3. Tejas and the Air-Platform File

• The LCA story.**Tejas — the ADA-designed (DRDO family), HAL-Bengaluru-built fighter: the 2016 first squadron (IOC), 2019 FOC; orders: 83 (2021, ~₹48,000 crore) + 97 (2024, ~₹65,000 crore) Mark-1A jets** — with delivery slips and the GE-F414 engine-supply friction as the honest current caveat.
• The next generation.**AMCA (Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft) — the 5.5-generation stealth programme, Cabinet-cleared March 2024 (~₹62,000 crore); the LCA Mk2 (powered by the GE-HAL F414 co-production — the US-file tie); the TEDBF carrier fighter; Prachand** — the Light Combat Helicopter (inducted 2022; a 156-unit order in 2025).
• The engine gap. The indigenous Kaveri engine’s decades-long travail (revived via the Safran partnership talks) — the standing critique: airframes indigenised, engines and sensors still imported.

4. The Naval and Land Files

• The carriers and submarines.**INS Vikrant (commissioned 2022 — India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, Cochin Shipyard); the Kalvari-class Scorpenes (P-75); the long-pending P-75(I) line and the DRDO’s indigenous AIP retrofit; the nuclear line — Arihant-class SSBNs (INS Arighaat commissioned 2024) and the approved six-SSN** programme.
• The surface and land. The P-15B destroyers (Visakhapatnam-class) and P-17A frigates (Nilgiri-class); on land: Arjun Mk1A (118 ordered 2021), the ATAGS towed artillery (the indigenous flagship), the Pinaka — the platform list to name-drop.

5. The Indigenisation Policy Stack

• The policy card.**DAP 2020 (the procurement procedure: Buy-Indian-first, the IDDM category — indigenously designed and manufactured at the top); the positive indigenisation lists (five lists, 2020-22, ~400+ items with import-embargo timelines)**; defence corridors (Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, 2018); the FDI liberalisation (74% automatic, 100% approval route).
• The instruments.**iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence, 2018) — the startup-innovation channel with 400+ contracts; the DRDO’s Technology Development Fund**; the Make-I/Make-II industry-R&D categories.
• The export record.**Defence exports ~₹21,000 crore in 2023-24 (~$2.6 bn) against a ₹50,000-crore target by 2029** — the trajectory to cite; destinations from the Philippines (BrahMos) to Armenia (Pinaka, ATAGS); the domestic share of defence procurement rising to ~75% of capital orders (official claim) — verify current figures before the exam.

6. How Exams Probe This Topic

• Prelims: the IGMDP five; Agni-5 MIRV 2024; BrahMos variants and export; Tejas Mk1A orders; AMCA 2024; Vikrant 2022; Arihant-class; iDEX 2018; the five positive lists; exports ₹21,000 crore; DAP-2020’s IDDM.
• Mains: “From import dependence to design-and-export: trace India’s defence indigenisation — the evidence and the gaps (engines, sensors)”; “DRDO’s delays reflect deep-tech ecosystem gaps — evaluate with the reform agenda (iDEX, private R&D)”; “Rising defence exports prove strategic autonomy — critically examine (imported-content and FDI caveats).”

7. Quick Revision: One-Glance Facts

• DRDO. 1958; ~50 labs; the Kalam IGMDP 1983.
• Missiles. IGMDP five; Agni-5 MIRV 2024; BrahMos (Philippines export); K-4 triad; Pinaka-Armenia.
• Air. Tejas Mk1A (83+97 orders); AMCA 2024 (₹62,000 crore); Prachand; the Kaveri gap.
• Naval. Vikrant 2022; Kalvari/P-75(I); Arihant and the SSN approval.
• Policy. DAP-2020 IDDM; five positive lists; iDEX 2018; corridors; exports ₹21,000 crore 2023-24; FDI 74/100.

Conclusion. The defence file is three cards and a policy: the missile ladder, the Tejas-AMCA pipeline, the naval builds, and the indigenisation stack. The engine-and-sensors dependence is the honest gap; the export rise is the proof — that balance carries the mains answer.