DRDO, IIT-Hyderabad join hands to boost Defence research

Hyderabad: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (IITH) have joined hands to establish 'DRDO - IIT Research Cell' at Hyderabad.

This will be an extension of the DRDO Research and Innovation Centre (RIC), Chennai. The Research Cell is slated to become a Centre of Excellence in conducting scientific and applied research in advanced technologies for Defence.

An MoU to this effect has been signed by KK Pathak, Director, Directorate of Futuristic Technology Management (DFTM) and MSR Prasad, Scientist and Director General, Missiles and Strategic Systems (MSS) of DRDO and Director of IITH, Prof BS Murthy.

Highlighting the role expected of the research cell, Dr G Satheesh Reddy, Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman, DRDO, said, "This MoU is aimed at bringing together the capabilities of DRDO and IIT Hyderabad, to achieve greater heights in indigenous technology through collaborative research.

This cell will ensure seamless execution of different projects between the two organisations. The strong research base of IITH in advanced technologies will be strengthened for the growth of the country through this cell, he said.

Further, the cell will enable tapping knowledge resources in Basic Science and Technology Industries that are interdisciplinary in nature and are spread across multiple institutions.

It will help enhance the scientific and technological base of the country in critical defence technology areas, he added. He said that this directed research initiative will help India become self-reliant in select defence technologies.

Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras, said, "IITM shares a special bond with IITH. Prof Murthy who heads the institute, was a Professor at IITM. "I am sure that DRDO-IITH Research Cell will make headway with its breath-taking deliverables under the umbrella of RIC, Chennai, with strong collaboration between DRDO Scientists and IITH Researchers."

Prof B S Murty, Director, IIT Hyderabad, said, "Research is always a prime focus at IITH. He said they will focus on Advanced Material and Processing, Sensors for Defence applications, Hardware and Algorithms for Artificial Intelligence-based applications, Technologies for Space applications, Adaptive Optics and Image Processing and Quantum technologies.