India, Sept. 26 -- 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 placed and timely payments being realised, innovators, especially self-funded R&D businesses, risk being forced out of the market. Why focus on self-funded R&D businesses? Because they have skin in the game. SpaceX rockets flew because all payments were milestone-linked until rockets actually flew, while NASA-funded projects by Lockheed Martin and Boeing languished. We need to encourage more companies to do self-funded R&D for successful development. That will happen only if the procurement cycle is compressed. This requires incentivising government officers to process the files faster - by assigning a value to every day of delay. We estimate each day of delay on a Rs.100-crore defence project translates into an estimated Rs.10 lakh in real lost value. For a Rs.100-crore defence project, a cumulative 24-month delay - unfortunately not uncommon - translates into losses exceeding Rs.72 crore, capital that could have funded multiple new R&D programmes. This cost is borne by the innovating company (Rs.2.4 lakh/day as interest on loans, payroll, operational overheads), the armed forces (Rs.1.8 lakh/day from delayed capability deployment, using outdated technology), the larger economy (Rs.4.2 lakh/day in missed GDP impact, tax revenues, export potential), and the innovation ecosystem (Rs.1.6 lakh/day with talent migration, company shutdowns). Meanwhile, a TERI study revealed a startling statistic: A mere 15% penetration of the Crew Gunnery Simulator could result in conservatively estimated annual savings of Rs.1,123 crore for India's armed forces. And the total capital investment required to generate such savings is just Rs.61 crore. A relatively easy solution lies in implementing SPEED (Savings and Penalties for Early or Delayed Decisions), a framework for tracking the financial and operational impact of procurement timelines. Savings will be quantified benefits of decisions made on or ahead of schedule, with clear metrics on funding freed up for R&D reinvestment. SPEED system will assign and publish daily costs of delays, with estimated losses apportioned to the company, Armed Forces, broader economy, and innovation ecosystem. A SPEED score for every active procurement file - updated automatically in real-time - would give policymakers, industry, and the public clear visibility of performance across the procurement value chain. Currently, there are no costs to the government. By providing approximate delay costs, it alerts all decision makers to process files faster as there is quantified cost to holding them back. This SPEED score can also be criteria for assigning future projects to officers. Automatic approval after default periods may also be considered. The ease of using SPEED lies in automation: A file moving forward means progress, minus penalties and probably savings. When files are sent back or additional questions raised, delay costs automatically accumulate at that decision point. This means no subjective interpretation, no gaming - just objective, transparent accountability for costs of inaction or unnecessary delays. For security reasons, if not made public, they should be internally tracked at least at defence ministry and armed forces levels. Procurement speed is not only about efficiency; it's a growth engine for indigenous technology. Timely decisions release trapped capital back to innovators for R&D reinvestment without waiting for external funding. Accelerated R&D brings cutting-edge systems to market sooner, strengthening the Armed Forces. The resulting operational advantage boosts India's credibility in global defence markets, opening high-value export opportunities. This is the virtuous cycle that nations with agile procurement systems already leverage. While conceived for defence procurement, SPEED can transform many government projects where private companies invest substantial resources during approval processes, creating a time-conscious decision-making culture across India's economy. For effectiveness, SPEED must be institutionalised through publicly accessible dashboards showing real-time SPEED scores for every procurement under IDDM, Make-II and iDEX projects; SPEED-linked KPIs for defence ministry officers and review boards tied directly to timelines; and escalation protocols when project clearance windows lapse. In business terms, this is like tracking project delivery metrics in the private sector. In strategic terms, it could mean deploying capability in 18 months versus losing edge to foreign suppliers due to avoidable delays, or worse. India's self-funded defence innovators operate in high-risk, capital-intensive environments. They commit significant private funds without guaranteed buyers, often matching or outpacing global competitors in technology readiness. What they cannot afford is procedural inertia delaying orders by months or years. The SPEED framework gives MoD a tool to make every day count. By turning time into a quantifiable resource - one that can be saved, reinvested, and multiplied - it aligns national security priorities with economic and industrial growth, motivating decision makers who are constantly fearful of taking timely action by institutionalising penalties for delayed decisions and savings for early decisions. Critics may question the methodology for determining delay costs. But the fundamental truth remains undeniable: Delays cost money. Stakeholders should assign their own cost estimates and proceed with the framework using those numbers, as delay costs are all too real. The per-day loss calculation approach remains valid regardless. Every day that defence procurement stalls, we lose more than just money-we undermine our nation's confidence, put the lives of our soldiers at risk, stifle homegrown innovation, and deepen our dangerous reliance on foreign equipment. Can we truly afford to let this cost mount? The stakes could not be higher. If we fail to act now in this favourable environment, the opportunity for change may be lost forever....