In a new initiative, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is bringing together 30-40 bright young scientists from its different labs to one centre to focus on developing new technologies.

The IIT Madras Research Park in Chennai will see this group coming together. They would work closely with the academia and the industry present in the Park, to crystallise the projects and undertake research work.

The initiative is expected to take off by August 15. The core areas of research are being finalised. The objective is to leverage strengths of academia-industry-research to ensure that critical technologies that cannot be imported or obtained are developed quickly, according to an official in the Union Ministry of Defence.

The Organisation, has a string of nearly 50 national research laboratories distributed across the country. Its research focus covers a broad spectrum from missiles to readymade foods for soldiers in tough locales such as high altitude Siachen glacier to the deserts of Rajasthan.

The Chief of the DRDO, Dr V.K. Saraswat, had told Business Line recently that cutting electronics, sensors, some areas of avionics, chip design and fabrication are some of the areas where the country needs to develop expertise and overcome hurdles posed by technology restrictive regimes.

Fosters innovation

The IIT Madras Research Park is modelled along the lines of successful research parks at Stanford and MIT in the US. It focuses not just on incubation efforts but also foster innovation in established research and development driven companies. The Research Park is adjacent to IIT Madras over a 42-acre plot.

The organisation at present has around 9000 scientists and engineers working on various projects. It has decided to recruit around 425 more in the near future to meet its growing demands. It has a budget of around Rs 10,600 crore for the current financial year.

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