Defense Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DITS)

The Defense Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DITS) has been unveiled by the Government of India to create a cluster of testing infrastructure to aid in the research & development of new military equipment.?

What is the? Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS)?

• The Indian Government has announced plans to create a cluster of 8 green greenfield projects where the testing of new military equipment like guns, drone and other associated defense equipment will be carried out.
• The government intends to partner with the private players and has invited collaborators from the industry and academia to be part of the project.?
• The total investment on part of the government is Rs 400 crores and the defense ministry will bear up to 75% of the costs involved in setting up the test range.
• The facilities will be set up via a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) (for each individual facility).
• The SPV (also known as the Implementation Agency) may be promoted/constituted or by private entities like any private players, R&D firm or an Academic institution.
• The test facilities are planned to include flight and telemetry ranges for drones, facilities for electronic warfare (EW), software testing, blast testing facilities for explosives testing, specialized driving tracks for land vehicles and water facilities for ship motion testing.
• The new defense testing facilities will mainly be established in the two defense corridors (Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu) as the government expects that the corridors will host a large number of industries which will be involved in defense and aerospace R&D and manufacturing in the future.?

Why was this necessary?

• Defense testing ranges are a costly undertaking and beyond the resources of a single small private player to set up and operate.?
• While there are test ranges established by the government and operated by the public sector units (PSUs) or the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• However private players contend that the restrictions placed on the use and operation of the test ranges are stringent and user experience has shown that they are not fully adequate with the most modern equipment for the testing.

This has created a bottleneck in the R&D and the industry faces major hurdles when it comes to everyday research for new equipment.