MSMEs in Defence: More than 30,000 defence items by defence public sector units (DPSUs) and services on the Srijan portal have been offered to the industry including MSMEs to become partners in the indigenisation process, said Ajay Bhatt, Minister of State in the Defence Ministry in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha. The value of defence production crossed Rs 1 lakh crore for the first time ever during FY23, the minister informed.
To promote the participation of MSMEs and startups in the development of defence technology, the government offers schemes such as Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), Technology Development Fund (TDF), and Make procedure under Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020.
“The DAP 2020 provides special provisions to encourage MSMEs and startups. Moreover, Public Procurement Policy for MSEs Order, 2012 has been implemented at DPSUs under which the price preference is given to MSME bidders under certain conditions,” said Bhatt.
The Minister stated the government’s role in promoting local defence manufacturing and innovation by initiatives such as Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), Technology Development Fund (TDF), and procedure of procurement under Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020.
Further, Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) — an initiative by the Defence Ministry — was launched in April 2018 to foster innovation and technology development in Defence and Aerospace by engaging Industries including MSMEs and startups. iDEX offers funding and other support for research and development activities.
So far, iDEX has connected 3 ministries, 16 DPSUs, and 19 incubators, with over 6800 applicants for the positions, as per the iDEX dashboard.
“Moreover, the Public Procurement Policy for MSEs Order, 2012, was implemented at the defence public sector units, or DPSUs, under which the price preference is given to MSME bidders under certain conditions,” Bhatt said in the Parliament.
The Ministry of Defence, which is among the largest buyers of products from MSMEs, nearly doubled its online procurement of goods and services from MSMEs and other sellers in the financial year 2022-23 from the previous fiscal via the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) marketplace. The ministry made purchases worth Rs 28,732.9 crore in FY23, up by 90.4 per cent from Rs 15,090.8 crore worth of goods and services bought in FY22, according to GeM data.