Guwahati: Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati is leading an initiative to establish ‘Manekshaw Centres for Defence and Security Research’ throughout the country.
The centres, under the aegis of the Ministry of Education, will act as a single-window communication to bridge the gap between the armed forces, security agencies and academic and research institutions.
A high-level delegation led by Prof Devendra Jalihal, Director, IIT Guwahati, recently briefed Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on the establishment of the nodal centres in premier institutions.
The “Manekshaw Centre” aims to work towards next-gen education, innovation, productisation, manufacturing and research-based consulting and operations.
Prof Jalihal, who is also the chief patron of Manekshaw Centre of Excellence, said, “This Centre will act as an interface between academia and defence forces. IITs, IISc, IIITs and NITs will be the members of the centre.
The initiative, headed by Devendra Jalihal, comprises other delegations, including Manindra Agrawal, Director, IIT Kanpur, and Dy. Chief Patron, Manekshaw Center of Excellence, and Lt Gen Dr. Subrata Saha (Retd.), Executive Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of the Manekshaw Center of Excellence.
According to a press statement issued by the Institute, Lt. Gen. Dr. Subrata Saha (retd.) and Prof. Sukumar Nandi, Dean of Administration, IIT Guwahati, conceived the idea of setting up this nodal centre for collaboration among IITs.
This visionary initiative will unite IITs, IISc, IIITs, and NITs on a collaborative academic and research platform focused on defence technology and national security.
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“The centre will periodically carry out dialogues with defense agencies and will participate actively to define and design systems for Indian security needs. It will work towards finding Indian solutions, thus fulfilling the aspiration of Atmanirbhar Bharat,” Jalihal said.
