India, Sept. 25 -- India's defence innovation ecosystem faces a hidden but critical internal threat - procurement delays. In an industry where timelines can determine technological edge and superiority, slow decision-making is not simply an inconvenience - it drains private capital investments, national capabilities, and strategic readiness.

The ministry of defence (MoD) has introduced promising initiatives such as Buy Indian - Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured (IDDM), Make-II, and iDEX - all intended to foster robust private-sector participation. But the speed of execution remains the Achilles' heel. Without measurable improvements in how quickly approvals move from Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) to actual orders being pl...