IIT Mandi hosts G20 meet on defence technologies; brings academia, DRDO, DPSUs, armed forces together

NEW DELHI: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi on day 4 of G20-S20 hosted a meeting on technological development for defense. The event focused on the importance of a collaborative approach to enhancing technological advancements in defense.

The meeting was attended by academia from the Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Defense Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), and Armed Forces. PKH Sinha, the strategic advisor of IIT Mandi and Rajnish Sharma coordinated the event.

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The event covered topics including research opportunities in terminal ballistics, mountain hazard management in the Indian Himalaya, chem-biodefense, and the roles and responsibilities of Bharat Electronics Limited.

Attending the meet, Laxmidhar Behera, director of IIT Mandi said: “There is a need of engaging 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.

“I acknowledge my heartfelt gratitude to all the guests and participants. We look forward to a vibrant simulating session on technology for defence and IIT Mandi aims to contribute to the cause of defence which is paramount for our great nation,” the director added.

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IIT Mandi is involved in defense research and innovation. A team from the institute developed an artificial material that can make stealth vehicles and establishments less visible to radar. This technology, due to its optical transparent nature, can be applied to window or glass panels. It can be used for reducing radar cross-section (RCS) and absorbing unwanted radiation leakages.

Sinha discussed an improvement proposed by Gajendra Singh, a faculty member at IIT Mandi which is related to the improvement of the rope release mechanism of Indian Air Force helicopters. This mechanism will help in the load-carrying capacity and delivery of supplies by the Indian Air Force.

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Sinha said, “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.”