Secretary of Defence Production, Sanjeev Kumar, highlighted the importance of aligning academic research with defence production requirements. In a virtual meeting with Directors/Deans of prominent academic institutions like IITs, NITs, and IISc, along with DPSUs and other stakeholders in New Delhi, discussions focused on enhancing long-term student-driven research, strengthening Academia-DPSU collaboration, and establishing structured initiatives for futuristic technologies.
The aim is to bridge the gap between academic research and practical defence capabilities. Secretary Sanjeev Kumar stressed the significance of these interactions in gaining deeper insights into academic research capabilities and perspectives. He urged academia to engage with the Department of Defence Production for long-term national capability development.
The meeting, attended by directors from various premier academic institutions, reaffirmed the Ministry of Defence’s commitment to harnessing the strengths of academic institutions for a self-reliant defence technology ecosystem. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also emphasized the need to expedite the transition from research to deployment, citing the importance of timely induction in the Armed Forces as a key performance indicator.
