Experts discuss development of defence tech at IIT Mandi
In his welcome address Director, IIT Mandi, Pro Laxmidhar Behera, stressed on the need to engage 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. Air vice Marshal PKH Sinha (retd), the Strategic Advisor of IIT Mandi coordinated the event and emphasized to create an ecosystem that fosters innovation and encourage development of technologies for Defence usage.
On Day 4 of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi’s ongoing mega G20 – S20 Meet Academia, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), DPSUs, and Armed Forces came together to discuss and highlight enhancement of technological development through collaborative approach. The theme of this event was ‘Technology for Defence.’
In his welcome address Director, IIT Mandi, Pro Laxmidhar Behera, stressed on the need to engage 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.
Air vice Marshal PKH Sinha (retd), the Strategic Advisor of IIT Mandi coordinated the event and emphasized to create an ecosystem that fosters innovation and encourage development of technologies for Defence usage.
“The four pillars of Defence sector are: ‘Academia’, that researches in the niche and critical emerging technologies;, ‘Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)’, that customize 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.” said Sinha.
He said there was an urgent need of synergy between these four pillars to build a strong foundation for niche Initiatives on Critical Emerging Technologies (iCET). I am sure, the Technology for Defence event at IIT Mandi’s G20 – S20 Meet will provide boost to India’s initiative of becoming Atmanirbhar.”
In addition to this, the event included multiple guest talks from DRDO and the public sector unit on the importance of technology for defence. Key highlights included:
Speaking about DRDO-Academia Partnership- Opportunities & Challenges, Chief Guest of the event Dr Satish Kumar, Chairman Armament Research Board of DRDO, said science alone can solve the problems of hunger, poverty, and Security.
Dr Vikas Kumar, Chairman, Aeronautics Research & Development Board, DRDO, said that with technological developments, Sustainability is the most important pillar for growth.