The Hindu Business Line : Centre clears DRDO proposal for propellant facility in Nasik

(From left) The Chief Controller, R&D, DRDO, Mr Prahlada, the Director of IIT-Madras, Mr S. Ananth, the Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister, Mr M. Natarajan; and the President of HEMSI, Mr Haridwar Singh, at the International High Energy Materials Conference & Exhibit-2005 at DRDL in Hyderabad on Wednesday. — Mohammed Yousuf

Hyderabad , Nov. 23

THE Centre has cleared the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) proposal to set up a research-cum-production facility for propellants and special materials at Nasik with an investment of Rs 300 crore.

Work on the project, expected to take 36-42 months, had begun. The Special Facility would make propellants that are required for the range of missiles such as Prithvi, Nag, Akash, Trishul, Agni etc. It could also take up applied process engineering activity, the Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister and Chief of the DRDO, Dr M. Natarajan, said here on Wednesday.

The High Energy Materials Research Laboratory, Pune, a constituent of DRDO laboratory, would play a major role in the facility. In fact, several research activities of the lab would be transferred there for upscaling, he told newspersons on the sidelines of a national conference on high energy materials, which he inaugurated on Wednesday at the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL).

The facility would be an intermediate between a pilot and manufacturing unit. The idea was to quickly meet the demands of the defence forces in terms of missile production or other explosive ammunition, Dr Natarajan said.

Another initiative of the DRDO, which has got the Centre's approval recently, has been the setting up of four Centres of Excellence (CoEs), in collaboration with the Indian universities. The first of such centre has been started at the University of Hyderabad, here.

The DRDO is supporting with funds to the tune of Rs 30 crore for establishing the facilities in the area of high energy materials at the university, he said.

A similar exercise had been started with the University of Kolkata in the area of sensors, especially millimetre wave devices. The other two areas and universities would be identified and CoEs established, Dr Natarajan said.

Earlier, addressing the 5th International High Energy Materials Conference and Exhibits-2005, Dr Natarajan emphasised the need for DRDO-Industry-Academia interface to exploit the potential of these materials in various sectors. The DRDO will provide adequate funding for many projects.

The Chief Controller (R&D), DRDO, Mr Prahlada, in his address highlighted the critical role of these materials in both defence and civilian areas. He said cooperation between manufacturers of high energy materials in India and abroad was bound to increase.

The President of High Energy Material Society of India, Dr Haridwar Singh, said the conference had attracted more than 300 delegates from India and abroad.

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