DRDO marks 68th foundation day, secures record defence clearances worth ₹1.30 lakh crore

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) celebrated its 68th Foundation Day on January 1 at its headquarters, DRDO Bhawan on Rajaji Marg in New Delhi , with Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh and Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth visiting the organisation to review its achievements in 2025 and outline targets for 2026.

DRDO was established on January 1, 1958 , and January 1, 2026 marks 68 years since its formation. The organisation was founded under the leadership of Dr D. S. Kothari , India’s first Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister, who played a key role in institutionalising defence research and development in India.

Later in the day, Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO, Dr Samir V Kamat , addressed the DRDO fraternity at DRDO Bhawan, New Delhi , in an event that was streamed live across all DRDO laboratories. Extending warm wishes to DRDO employees and their families, Dr Kamat said the organisation’s efforts have given a major boost to India’s pursuit of self-reliance in defence under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat vision. He urged scientists to focus on next-generation domains such as cyber security, space technologies and artificial intelligence.

Highlighting DRDO’s achievements in 2025, the Chairman said that the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) and the Services Procurement Board (SPB) accorded 22 Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) clearances for the induction of DRDO-developed systems worth approximately ₹1.30 lakh crore . These systems are to be manufactured by Indian industry, marking the highest AoN value approved in any single year so far.

Notable systems that received AoN include the Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS), Conventional Ballistic Missile System, Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile system ‘Anant Shastra’, Long Range Air-to-Surface Supersonic Cruise Missile (LRASSCM), Integrated Drone Detection and Interdiction System (IDDIS) Mk-II, Astra Mk-II Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile, Anti-Tank NAG Missile (Tracked) Mk-2, Advanced Lightweight Torpedo, Processor-Based Moored Mine – Next Generation, Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) Mk-1A, mountain radars and full mission simulators for the LCA Mk-1A.

Dr Kamat said that 11 contracts worth about ₹26,000 crore were signed in 2025 with DRDO production partners for systems including the Nag Missile System, Ashwini low-level transportable radar, Air Defence Fire Control Radar, electronic warfare suites for Mi-17 V5 helicopters, Pinaka munitions, Infantry Floating Foot Bridge, wargaming systems, Automatic Chemical Agent Detector and Alarm (ACADA), and the Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS). He added that several DRDO-developed products were also inducted into the Central Armed Police Forces, police forces and the National Disaster Response Force during the year.

User evaluation trials for several systems were completed or reached final stages in 2025. These include the Pralay surface-to-surface missile, Akash NG surface-to-air missile, guided extended-range Pinaka rockets, Advanced Lightweight Torpedo, man-portable anti-tank guided missile, Border Surveillance System, software-defined radio for the Indian Army and CBRN water purification system. Development and user trials are also underway for platforms such as the Indian Light Tank, Very Short Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS), naval anti-ship missile (NASM-SR), Rudram-2 air-to-surface missile, long-range glide bomb ‘Gaurav’, long-range and VHF surveillance radars, high-power microwave systems and advanced aircraft life-support systems.

Expressing confidence for 2026, the DRDO Chairman said that most systems currently under user trials or in final stages of development are expected to be accepted by the services and made ready for induction. He noted that DRDO’s partnership with industry continues to expand, with 2,201 licensing agreements for transfer of technologies issued so far, including 245 agreements signed in 2025 alone.

He further underlined progress under DRDO Industry Academia Centres of Excellence, with 66 new projects worth ₹228 crore sanctioned during the year, strengthening translational research and innovation across India’s defence ecosystem.