IIT Mandi combines academia, DRDO to foster technology for defence

Day 4 of G20 – S20 Meet at IIT Mandi focused on the enhancement of defence capabilities to contribute to Government of India’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat. 

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi’s ongoing G20 – S20 Meet Academia, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), DPSUs, and Armed Forces came together to discuss enhancement of technological development through collaborative approach. The theme of the event was ‘Technology for Defence’. 

Prof Laxmidhar Behera, Director, IIT Mandi, said, “There is a need for engaging academia, R&D institutions, industries, startups and Armed Forces to come in active dialogue mode - where free and frank exchange of innovative ideas can germinate.” 

Speaking during the event, Air Vice Marshal PKH Sinha (Retd), Chief Coordinator of Technology for Defence event, said, “The four pillars of Defence sector are: academia that researches in the niche and critical emerging technologies; Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) that customise these technologies and hands it over to the industry for mass production; industry that makes it robust for the use of our troops, air warriors and sailors, and the defence forces that finally use these innovations and technologies.” 

Dr Satish Kumar, Chairman, ARMREB, DRDO, was the chief guest on the occasion. He said, “Science alone can solve the problems of hunger, poverty, and security. DRDO is engaged in developing defence technologies covering various disciplines such as aeronautics, electronics, missiles, and naval systems, among others, with an aim to achieve self-reliance in critical defence technologies and systems while equipping our armed forces with state-of-art weapon systems in accordance with requirements.” 

Dr Vikas Kumar, Chairman, Aeronautics Research & Development Board, DRDO, said, “With technological developments, sustainability is the most important pillar for growth. There was a time when we used to equip our forces with world-class technologies developed by other countries, now, we are leading multiple projects on indigenising the technologies for the world."

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