The Import Dependency Problem
India is one of the world's largest defence spenders. Yet a significant portion of that spending goes to foreign vendors for technology platforms that Indian engineers are fully capable of building.
This creates three problems:
Strategic dependency. When your secure communication system is built by a foreign company, your most sensitive operations depend on that company's continued cooperation and that foreign government's continued goodwill.
Operational misalignment. Foreign platforms are designed for their home market's operational requirements. Indian defence forces have unique operational environments, from extreme altitude deployments in the Himalayas to tropical naval operations, that foreign vendors do not prioritise.
Economic leakage. Every rupee spent on foreign defence technology is a rupee that does not build domestic defence industrial capability. The engineers who could be building India's defence technology infrastructure are instead integrating foreign products.
Why We Started Tosh Defence
The founding premise of Tosh Defence is simple: India has the engineering talent to build world-class defence technology, and the national interest demands that we do.
This is not nationalism for its own sake. It is a practical assessment of what sovereign defence requires:
- Communication platforms where the encryption is controlled by Indian entities under Indian law
- Cybersecurity tools trained on threat patterns relevant to Indian operational environments
- Network monitoring platforms that work on Indian defence network architectures
- Deployment models that match Indian military infrastructure realities
None of these requirements are exotic. They are basic product-market fit applied to the defence sector.
The Three Products
We chose to start with three products that address the most critical gaps in India's defence technology stack:
SANKET - Sovereign Encrypted Communications
Armed forces and intelligence agencies need communication platforms they can trust completely. SANKET provides military-grade, end-to-end encrypted messaging with full source code access, on-premise deployment, and zero foreign dependencies in the chain of trust.
The name stands for Sovereign Authenticated Network Key-based Encrypted Transmission.
MAYA - AI-Powered Cyber Deception
Indian defence networks face sophisticated cyber threats from state-sponsored actors. MAYA deploys intelligent honeypots and decoys that detect, misdirect, and contain attackers before they reach real systems. Built with AI that adapts deception strategies in real time.
DRISHYA - Unified Network Monitoring
Defence networks span hundreds of devices from multiple vendors across multiple classification levels. DRISHYA provides single-pane-of-glass visibility across every device, every vendor, and every alert in one dashboard. Built for air-gapped deployment.
What "Made in India" Means for Defence Tech
"Made in India" in defence technology is not just about where the code is compiled. It means:
Indian engineers making architecture decisions. The people who decide how the system works understand Indian operational requirements because they live in this context.
Indian legal jurisdiction. The corporate entity that controls the technology is subject only to Indian law. No foreign government can compel access, weakening, or disclosure.
Indian operational feedback. The product roadmap is driven by feedback from Indian defence users, not by the priorities of a foreign home market.
Source code access for sovereign audit. Indian security teams can review every line of code. No black boxes, no "trust us" assurances.
Domestic supply chain. Over time, building domestic defence technology creates a supply chain of Indian companies, engineers, and researchers who understand defence-grade software development.
The Challenge
Building defence technology in India is not easy. The challenges are real:
- Talent competition. Indian engineers can earn more at global tech companies. Defence technology companies must offer compelling missions and competitive compensation.
- Long sales cycles. Government procurement processes are thorough but slow. Startups need patient capital and strategic planning to survive the timeline.
- Certification requirements. Defence products must meet security certification standards that require significant investment in testing and documentation.
- Trust building. Defence organisations are rightfully cautious about new vendors. Every new platform must prove itself rigorously before deployment.
We accept these challenges because the alternative, continued dependence on foreign defence technology vendors, is worse.
The Road Ahead
India's defence technology ecosystem is growing. Government policies are increasingly favouring domestic development. The startup ecosystem is producing companies with genuine defence technology capabilities.
Tosh Defence is one piece of this larger movement. Our contribution is building three products that Indian defence forces can deploy with complete confidence: sovereign, auditable, and built for their operational reality.
The technology exists. The talent exists. The market need exists. What remains is execution, and that is what we are focused on every day.
Learn more about our mission and team, or explore our products.