IIT Roorkee inaugurates state-of-the-art centre for drone research

NEW DELHI: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee, inaugurated a state-of-art centre for Drone Research on the campus on Thursday.

The initiative received a seed funding of Rs 100.38 lakhs from alumni of the 1994 batch on the occasion of their silver jubilee reunion.

The inauguration was done in a virtual ceremony. The chief guest on the occasion was Dr VK Saraswat, member, NITI Aayog and former director-general, DRDO.

“I would like to congratulate IIT Roorkee for this initiative. The drone segment has witnessed a surge in demand by leaps and bounds and is currently being harnessed by 50-60 academic institutions for developing a variety of applications,” Saraswat said.

He also stressed the significance of indigenization in the design process of drones and the need for prudent business models to make it commercially viable.

Dr RK Tyagi, an alumnus of IIT Roorkee was the guest of honour. Tyagi is also the former chairman, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Pawan Hans Limited. BVR Mohan Reddy, chairman, the board of directors, IIT Roorkee; Ajit K Chaturvedi, director, IIT Roorkee among others were also present on the occasion.

“The year 2020 has been very disruptive and the drone technology in the last year has impacted every area of activity like transport, medical, pipeline, agriculture and defence. In fact, next to the internet and GPS, the drone and anti-drone technology are making a transformative effect and impact on mankind. India will become a drone hub by 2030 and drones and anti-drone will define the core combat capabilities of tomorrow,” Tyagi said.

Emphasizing the need to promote entrepreneurship and incubation of ground-breaking ideas in the drone segment, Mohan Reddy said, “The drone market is pegged at Rs 128 billion and has around 38 different areas of application. Hence there is a huge opportunity in this segment, especially in the healthcare and social impact domains.”

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