MoD proof ranges, field firing ranges and laboratory test facilities will be open to the Indian defence industry on simpler terms after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved a revised Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for their use, the Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday.

The revised SOP lays down a detailed and simplified procedure for allotment and utilisation of the ministry's proof ranges and laboratory testing facilities, and carries the formats companies need to apply, according to the Ministry of Defence.

Testing charges waived for iDEX, TDF and Make projects

Proof and testing charges have been waived for developmental projects of the Ministry of Defence, including those under Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), the Technology Development Fund (TDF) and the Make category. The ministry said the waiver is meant to promote Aatmanirbharta in Defence.

All three routes feed young or small firms into the defence supply chain. iDEX funds start-ups and innovators against problem statements set by the Services, and 676 start-ups and innovators had been engaged under iDEX and iDEX Prime as of March 2026, the Defence Minister told a Defence Conclave in New Delhi last month. TDF, executed by DRDO, funds technologies Indian industry does not yet have, with MSMEs and start-ups as the priority; its first high-value agreement under a Rs 500 crore deep tech corpus went to an Alwar start-up building a quantum refrigerator in September. The Make category under the Defence Acquisition Procedure covers development of equipment by Indian industry, with government funding under Make-I and industry funding under Make-II.

Where charges still apply, the SOP now includes the procedure for calculating and paying them. The ministry said this simplifies documentation and process for industry.

Three-day quarterly slot reserved at proof ranges

A three-day slot every quarter has been reserved at Proof Ranges for proof firing of developmental projects sponsored by the government. These include iDEX, TDF, Make and other developmental projects of the Ministry of Defence.

The reserved slot also covers developmental projects that Indian defence companies have undertaken on their own initiative, without government sponsorship, the ministry said. That extends the window beyond programmes the ministry funds or manages directly, to private firms developing weapons, ammunition and subsystems at their own cost and risk.

Proof firing is the live-fire stage at which weapons and ammunition are tested before acceptance.

MoD proof ranges of DRDO, quality agencies and Services listed

The SOP lists the Proof Ranges, Field Firing Ranges and Laboratory Test Facilities held by DRDO, government quality assurance agencies and the three Services that are available to the Indian defence industry. The full facility list forms part of the SOP document itself, and was not reproduced in Wednesday's release.

Private manufacturers and start-ups generally do not operate live-fire ranges of their own. They rely on government facilities to prove weapons and ammunition before user trials, which makes a single consolidated list with standard formats useful to any firm planning a test campaign.

Conciliation clause replaces arbitration

The arbitration provision in the existing SOP has been replaced with a simpler, industry-friendly Conciliation Agreement Clause, meant to support Ease of Doing Business through faster resolution of issues faced by indigenous defence firms.

The ministry has made other changes to its terms of dealing with vendors this year. Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said earlier this month that the revised blacklisting policy will cap vendor bans at five years, stretching to around seven in extreme cases, followed by a sunset clause.

Indigenisation, innovation and exports built into the SOP

The revised SOP aims at simpler, transparent and industry-friendly access to these facilities, the ministry said, and brings in government initiatives on indigenisation, innovation and defence exports, alongside proof and test support for projects undertaken by Indian industry.