DIO Project Management Consultants Recruitment 2026

The Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO), under the Department of Defence Production (DDP), Ministry of Defence, is hiring 6 Individual Consultants for its iDEX Project Management Team — Program Director, Deputy Program Director, Program Executive and Deputy Program Executive — on a contract basis. If you have a Master's or Bachelor's degree in Science, Management or Technology with relevant experience, you can apply online at idex.gov.in. The last date to apply is 31 August 2026, by 5:00 PM. Monthly consultancy fees range from Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 2,40,000 depending on the post.

Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO) Project Management Team Recruitment 2026 - 6 Posts

The Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO) has released a notification (Advt. No. DIO/Advertisement/IC-PMA/2026(I) dated 08 July 2026) to engage individual consultants for its iDEX Project Management Team. iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence), launched in April 2018, works to build an innovation ecosystem for defence and aerospace in India by involving MSMEs, start-ups, individual innovators, R&D institutions and academia, and by funding them to develop products and services for future adoption by India's defence and aerospace sector. iDEX is run by DIO, a Section-8 company set up by defence public sector undertakings HAL and BEL to help the Ministry of Defence build this innovation ecosystem. This is a purely contract-based engagement, not a regular government job, so if you have program/project management experience and want to work on India's defence innovation programme, this notification is worth reading closely.

Vacancy Breakdown

Who Can Apply?

For Program Director (PD) - 2 Posts (Rs. 1,80,000-2,40,000/month):

• Master's degree in Science/Management/Technology or equivalent with 10 years of relevant experience, OR Bachelor's degree in Science/Management/Technology or equivalent with 12 years of relevant experience.

For Deputy Program Director (DPD) - 1 Post (Rs. 1,40,000-1,80,000/month):

• Master's degree with 6 years of relevant experience, OR Bachelor's degree with 8 years of relevant experience.

For Program Executive (PE) - 2 Posts (Rs. 80,000-1,20,000/month):

• Master's degree with 2 years of relevant experience, OR Bachelor's degree with 4 years of relevant experience.

For Deputy Program Executive (DPE) - 1 Post (Rs. 40,000-80,000/month):

• Master's degree holders can apply without prior experience, OR Bachelor's degree with 1 year of relevant experience.

For all four posts, you should have prior relevant experience in at least one of these areas: innovation and entrepreneurship, business development/strategic partnerships, program management, grant management, consulting and stakeholder management/HR, communications and outreach, designing and running challenges/hackathons, product management, IT operations, project management or product development in a start-up or manufacturing industry, or finance/budgeting/accounts.

Age Limit

• Program Director (PD): Below 55 years as on 10 August 2026.
• Deputy Program Director (DPD): Below 40 years as on 10 August 2026.
• Program Executive (PE): Below 30 years as on 10 August 2026.
• Deputy Program Executive (DPE): Below 26 years as on 10 August 2026.

Salary

• Program Director (PD): Consolidated monthly consultancy fee of Rs. 1,80,000 to Rs. 2,40,000.
• Deputy Program Director (DPD): Rs. 1,40,000 to Rs. 1,80,000 per month.
• Program Executive (PE): Rs. 80,000 to Rs. 1,20,000 per month.
• Deputy Program Executive (DPE): Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 80,000 per month.
• You can get an annual increment of up to 10% based on your yearly performance evaluation, as per DIO's applicable rules.
• Your monthly fee will never go beyond 1.80 times your starting fee, even after extension or increment.
• You are responsible for GST on your consultancy fee, but DIO reimburses the GST paid on the fee it pays you, if any. Applicable income tax will be deducted at source (TDS).

Selection Process

The selection will be done in these stages:

1. Shortlisting: Your application is screened based on qualification and experience. Shortlisted candidates are informed by email.
2. Interview: You may be called for a personal interview in New Delhi or through video conferencing. The interview may include a skill test, a personal interview, and a group discussion, debate or quiz.

DIO will not entertain any claims for travel fare to attend the interview, and it is not obliged to explain its selection decisions to applicants.

How to Apply

1. Go to the official iDEX website at www.idex.gov.in.
2. Open the Careers section on the website.
3. Choose the post you want to apply for (PD/DPD/PE/DPE) under the Project Management Team.
4. Fill in the online application form.
5. Upload all your documents in a single PDF file, within the prescribed size limit.
6. Submit your application online before 31 August 2026, 5:00 PM.

Only applications submitted through the online mode will be accepted. Applications sent through any other means will not be considered. For any queries, you can email eo-dio@ddpmod.gov.in or call 011-20832018.

Important Dates

• Notification Date: 08 July 2026
• Application Start Date: 08 July 2026
• Last Date to Apply Online: 31 August 2026 (5:00 PM)

• Manage specific iDEX projects and support the wider iDEX team's day-to-day work
• Build and manage partnerships with top incubators across India under the Partner Incubators framework
• Design and run defence-related innovation challenges, hackathons and similar activities under the SPARK framework
• Manage the fund disbursal process for grant recipients under various iDEX frameworks
• Build internal dashboards to track and monitor iDEX project execution
• Promote iDEX and related initiatives through social and traditional media outreach
• Ensure all projects are completed on time, within scope and budget, and help launch new projects
• Carry out any other task assigned by the COO or a senior DIO authority