IDSA was established as a registered society in New Delhi on November 11, 1965.
| Defence Departments & their Functions | |
| Department | Functions |
| Department of Defence | Responsible for the Defence Budget, Establishment matters. Defence policy, matters relating to Parliament. Defence co-operation with foreign countries and co-ordination of all defence related activities. |
| Department of Defence Production | Deals with matters pertaining to defence production. Indigenisation of imported stores, equipment and spares. Planning and control of departmental production units of the Ordnance Factory Board and Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs). |
| Department of Defence Research | Its function is to advise the Government on scientific aspects of military equipment and logistics and the formulation of research, design and development plans for equipment required by the Services. |
| Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare | Deals with all resettlement, welfare and pensionary matters of Ex-Servicemen. |
| Some important DRDO Labs and Establishments | ||
| Name | Location | Area of Research |
| Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL) | Hyderabad | Missiles and Strategic Systems |
| Advanced Centre for Energetic Materials (ACEM) | Nasik | Energetic Materials |
| Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE) | Agra | Parachutes and Aerial Systems |
| Centre for Artificial Intelligence & Robotics (CAIR) | Bengaluru | Artificial Intelligence & Robotics |
| Defence Avionics Research Establishment (DARE) | Bengaluru | Avionics |
| Defence Laboratory (DL) | Jodhpur | Camouflaging and Isotopes |
| Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied Sciences (INMAS) | Delhi | Nuclear Medicines |
| Defence Research Laboratory (DRL) | Tezpur | Health and Hygiene |
| SF Complex (SFC) | Jagdalpur | Propellant |
| DRDO Research & Innovation Centre (RIC) | Chennai | Accreditation Projects |
