ADITI — Grants up to ₹25 Crore for Strategic, Critical Defence Technologies

₹25 Cr
Maximum grant per project
50%
Of the product development budget
25
Problem statements in ADITI 4.0
₹9 lakh
Per Partner Incubator for facilitation
Share:
Call-based — ADITI 4.0 launched 19 March 2026; editions recur alongside DISCLast verified against official guidelines on 4 September 2026.
What it is

iDEX for the technologies the country cannot buy

ADITI is the iDEX sub-scheme for strategically critical technologies — the ones that are sensitive, innovative from a defence perspective, and needed by the armed forces but unlikely to be available on the open market. Challenges are organised around earmarked technology areas; winners are incubated by Partner Incubators and funded with grants far larger than the standard SPARK ceiling.

The fourth edition, ADITI 4.0, launched on 19 March 2026 with 25 problem statements from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Defence Space domains covering robotics, artificial intelligence, electronic warfare, advanced materials, space technologies, autonomous systems and precision weapon systems. Earlier editions funded, among others, hypersonic and underwater technologies.

Quantum & benefits

What a winner receives

ItemPosition
GrantUp to 50% of the product development budget, capped at ₹25 crore — implying a PDB of about ₹50 crore or more
ReleaseMilestone-based under the ADITI agreement
IncubationPartner Incubator facilitation; PIs are paid ₹9 lakh per winner on milestone completion
User accessDirect engagement with the sponsoring Service for trials and validation
ProcurementPriority pathway for induction of successful technologies
Who decides

DIO and the Ministry

DIO runs the challenge under the iDEX framework; the Department of Defence Production and the Service that sponsored the problem statement sit on the evaluation. Security and ownership vetting is part of the process given the sensitivity of the technologies.

Eligibility

Who can bid

  • •DPIIT-recognised startup, any Indian company incorporated under the Companies Act, or an individual innovator
  • •Indian ownership and control; the Ministry examines beneficial ownership closely for ADITI
  • •A solution mapped to a published ADITI problem statement
  • •Technical capability and financial capacity to fund the other 50% of a ₹50 crore development budget, typically through investors or industry partners
ADITI is not an early-stage scheme. A startup without a demonstrated prototype and a credible route to ₹25 crore of co-funding will not pass evaluation. DISC or the Open Challenge is the entry point; ADITI is where a proven team scales.
Documents

What the application needs

  • •Technical proposal against the ADITI problem statement: architecture, TRL evidence, development plan, milestones
  • •Product development budget with the applicant's 50% share identified and evidenced — investor commitments, partner MoUs
  • •Certificate of Incorporation, DPIIT recognition, shareholding pattern with ultimate beneficial ownership
  • •Security-related declarations and, where relevant, industrial licence or DPIIT industrial licence status
  • •Team CVs, prior defence programmes, test reports and IP
  • •Partner Incubator association
  • •Declaration of other government funding
FAQs

Questions founders ask about ADITI

No — startups have won ADITI challenges — but the scale of the budget means a startup usually bids with investor backing or an industry partner.

Yes, if the technology matches an ADITI problem statement. DISC to PRIME to ADITI is a common progression for critical technologies.

The framework follows iDEX: the innovator retains IP with the Ministry's rights defined in the agreement. Given the strategic nature, export and disclosure restrictions apply.

Editions have launched roughly annually alongside DISC. ADITI 4.0 launched on 19 March 2026; the next is expected on a similar cycle.