Rajnath Singh releases DFP-2026, new reform to speed up DRDO’s R&D execution

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday released the Delegation of Financial Powers to DRDO (DFP-2026), a major reform aimed at improving efficiency, accountability and faster execution of strategic R&D projects.

Singh said the new framework would speed up the production and induction of systems, platforms and technologies emerging from the R&D ecosystem into the armed forces, while fostering stronger collaboration with industry and academia in line with the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat. The revised framework, he added, would strengthen self-reliance in defence technologies and bolster the nation’s overall defence preparedness.

“The DFP-2026 is designed to significantly enhance functional empowerment at various levels within the Department of Defence R&D,” the Ministry of Defence said in a press release.

It addresses key requirements, including dedicated financial provisions for trial campaigns and test-and-evaluation activities, authorisation to sanction pre-project R&D initiatives, and a clearer segregation of financial powers for grants-in-aid under Extra-Mural Research Projects, Defence Innovation Accelerator-Centres of Excellence, and Technology Development Fund projects.

The event in New Delhi was attended by the Chief of Defence Staff General N.S. Raja Subramani; Defence Secretary and DRDO Chairman Rajesh Kumar Singh; Secretary (Defence Production) Sanjeev Kumar; Secretary (Ex-Servicemen Welfare) Sukriti Likhi; Controller General of Defence Accounts Anugraha Narayana Das; DG (Naval Systems & Materials) RV Hara Prasad; DG (Resources & Management) Dr Ravindra Singh; Director, Directorate of Finance & Material Management Dr Maiya Din; and other senior officials.

The reform addresses long-standing bottlenecks in DRDO’s project execution, where rigid financial approval processes often slowed down trial campaigns, testing, and the sanctioning of pre-project R&D work, delaying the move from lab to battlefield.

By giving officials at various levels greater financial autonomy and clearer authority over grants-in-aid schemes, the DFP-2026 aims to cut through procedural delays and help indigenous defence technologies reach the armed forces faster.