DRDO chief attends NIT Convocation
SHILLONG: India is now going to make the 5th generation Advanced Medium Combat aircraft which will make the country self-reliant in the particular segment.
Speaking at the 6th convocation of the National Institute of Technology here on Friday, G Satheesh Reddy, Secretary, Department of Defence and R&D and the Chairman of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), further said that the country is now also going to make light combat aircraft Marak 2
“India will have the world’s best aircraft in 10 years,” he said.
Stating that India’s indigenous content in defence equipment is 45-50 per cent as of now, he added that the department is now going to work on systems which will increase indigenous content to 70-75 per cent in the next 5-10 years in every field including aircraft manufacturing.
Regretting that India imports equipment from outside, he stressed on the need for the country to be more self-reliant and said it should develop first-of-its-kind and unique technologies.
“Our export of indigenous technology must increase and academic institutions must contribute in this area,” he said.
He said that three departments, including Department of Space, Atomic Energy and Department of Defence R&D, have contributed largely in the development of the country and have achieved many marvels in the last 25 years.
He said that India today can develop any radar, sonar and electronic warfare system and even foreign countries have appreciated the country’s achievements in the field of defence.
Stating there are three Indian institutes which are in the top 200 in the world, he said that attempts should be made to get a couple of these to the top 100.
Altogether 197 students were conferred various UG, PG and Ph.D degrees during the convocation.
The Director of the Institute, Prof. Bibhuti Bhusan Biswal, highlighted the achievements made by the institute since its inception.
He informed that the institute has repeated the feat of over 80 per cent placement of eligible final year students with 27 per cent of them receiving more than one offer.
“The highest package offered was Rs 19.2 lakh per annum and the average salary was Rs 5.81 lakh per annum.
According to Biswal, the work on the permanent campus of the institute at Sohra is progressing and overall progress of the Phase I construction work is about 70 per cent.
The chairman of the convocation, Sajjan Bhajanka, who is the chairman of Century Plyboards (India) Ltd, informed that in order to encourage young and talented minds in research, the Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship scheme has been introduced for the students of IITs, IISc and IISERs.
IIM visit
The DRDO chairman also paid a visit to IIM Shillong and addressed the IIM fraternity. The programme started with a welcome address by Prof DP Goyal, Director, IIM Shillong.
Dr. Reddy mentioned his experiences with Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and stated that he was privileged to have taken the same podium where Dr Kalam last spoke.
A nostalgic Dr. Reddy talked about how Dr. Kalam was a visionary like none other.
He recounted his days as a young scientist working under the supervision of Dr. Kalam.
The lecture was attended by Maj Gen PK Saini, Chief of Staff, Army HQ 101, Shillong.
The event concluded with Prof. Kiya Sengupta, Dean – Academics, IIM Shillong, expressing her gratitude to the noted guests on behalf of the institute for sparing their crucial time to enlighten the next generation leaders of tomorrow.