DRDO-Industry partnership to bring futuristic technology

Neha Dewan

Dr. G Satheesh Reddy, Scientific Advisor to Raksha Mantri, said on Tuesday that strategic and futuristic technology in the defence sector can only come through real partnership with industry.

“Industry should use imagination and innovation to build products for tomorrow,” he said while delivering the inaugural address at DEFTECH 2016 – Realising Make in India through Defence R&D -- organised by CII and supported by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

He further said that ‘Make in India’ should not stop at ‘Build to Print’ but also include indigenous design, development and manufacturing. Reddy urged the industry to engage with incubation centres of various universities which would complement the research initiatives of DRDO.  

Senior officials from the Indian Armed Forces, Ministry of Defence, DRDO, Academia and representatives from Indian and overseas industries attended the event, offering their perspective on a range of subjects.

G Chandramouli, Scientist and Project Director, Akash DRDO, gave a presentation on missile technologies highlighting how the industry partners need to outsource more and that there should be creation of more independent quality control applications.

The two-day event is expected to offer a platform for the Indian industry to showcase their capabilities and DRDO to spell its requirements.

Baba Kalyani, Chairman, CII National Committee on Defence and Chairman Bharat Forge, applauded the efficiency of DRDO terming it as “India’s quest towards self-reliance”. He said decision making has become faster in the last two years as several issues are being addressed.

Many seasoned panelists also addressed the gathering which aimed at enhancingthe partnership of the industry in defence research and development with DRDO.