Bhubaneswar: Nine projects sanctioned from the electronics and communication systems (ECS) cluster of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) were handed over to IIT-Bhubaneswar at a collaboration meeting here on May 7, 2024.
Seven more projects are in the process of being sanctioned from ECS with a funding of Rs 18 crore. The IIT-Bhubaneswar will work on these sanctioned projects, which would be beneficial in electronics warfare, AI-driven surveillance, power systems and radar systems.
Informing about the projects, head of Electrical Science school of IIT-Bhubaneswar SR Samantaray said the collaboration of IIT-Bhubaneswar and DRDO will contribute to the emerging research and development need of defence applications, creating platform for ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’. This form of collaboration will enhance the sustainability of defence research programmes and will be part of the ecosystem for nation building.
“The collaboration between the ECS Cluster of DRDO and IIT-Bhubaneswar is intended towards working for a common cause to fulfil the future needs of the country in the field of defence technology,” he said.
Speaking on the occasion, director general of ECS Binay K Das said DRDO is going through a transformation from being technology chasers to becoming technology enablers and trendsetters. “The goal is now to move beyond attaining self-reliance to setting standards for the Indian Armed Forces, for others across the globe to emulate. In this context, this collaboration, and the further opportunity to set up a Centre of Excellence at IIT-Bhubaneswar would prove crucial,” he added.
He further advised the researchers and faculty members associated with various DRDO sanctioned projects to work systematically with proper review and risk management systems to complete the projects in time and come up with unique solutions.
On the collaboration with DRDO, director of IIT-Bhubaneswar Shreepad Karmalkar said the IITs across the country have moved beyond knowledge generation and dissemination to knowledge application, wealth generation through start-ups, entrepreneurship and producing quality teachers. In such a scenario, collaborations with DRDO for research in the field of defence mechanism and technology will pave a new path towards excellence, he said. Karmalkar emphasised on the role of research scholars in coming up with innovative ideas.
DRDO officials informed that they are looking forward to having collaborations with the academia for research and industry for taking the projects forward to the application level. These collaborations with academic institutions aim at developing cutting-edge and next generation technologies to make India at par with the international standards in terms of defence technology.
