Examine how the Development-cum-Production Partner model can shorten DRDO's lab-to-induction timelines. Illustrate with recent missile programmes.

Under the Development-cum-Production Partner (DcPP) model, an industry firm joins a DRDO project at the design stage and then manufactures the system. Development and production readiness therefore run side by side instead of one after the other. Pralay's user evaluation trial on 5 November 2026 shows the model at work: Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) is the DcPP, and induction is described as imminent [1].

How the DcPP model shortens timelines

• Parallel, not sequential: the partner prepares its production line while trials continue. This removes the gap between the end of trials and the start of manufacturing.
• No separate technology transfer: the producer helped build the design, so it does not have to learn the design again later.
• Partner-built trial hardware: in the December 2025 Pralay salvo test, the DcPPs, BDL and BEL, integrated the systems themselves [3]. The units the Forces test come from the same firms that will make the production units.
• Early user feedback: Army and IAF representatives watched trials alongside the DcPPs [3], so their feedback reaches the production design early.

Illustrations

• Pralay: the July 2025 phase-1 user trials validated its maximum and minimum range [2]. A two-missile salvo followed in December 2025 [3], and the November 2026 trial met all objectives [1].
• Akash-NG: BEL and BDL took part as production agencies from the 2021 development flights [4]. User evaluation trials were completed in December 2025 [5].

Limits

• Delays remain: induction of Pralay was called "near" in 2025 [2] and "imminent" twice since then [3][1].
• Systemic overruns: 23 of 55 DRDO projects missed their deadlines [6]. A CAG review found that 119 of 178 projects overshot their original timelines [7].
• Shifting requirements: projects get closed when the Qualitative Requirements change midway [6]. Co-production cannot fix that.
• Narrow partner base: both examples rely on public-sector units (BDL, BEL).

Way forward

• Fix user requirements early, and use review panels with technical experts and standard benchmarks [6].
• Plan production capacity during the trials themselves.
• Bring in private firms, building on the 25% of the R&D budget earmarked for industry [7].

The DcPP model turns development and production into one continuous process, and Pralay and Akash-NG show it shortening the lab-to-line gap. With fixed requirements, dated induction plans and a wider pool of partners, it can turn "imminent" into actual induction and strengthen Aatmanirbhar Bharat in defence.