Institute hosts DRDO Scientists, Industry experts, IITs and premier institutions to deliberate how India can advance in the field of Laser Systems and develop the technology indigenously
CHENNAI, 2 nd May 2023: Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) hosted a
workshop on Next Generation Laser Technologies today (2 nd May 2023) as part of the Golden
Jubilee celebrations of Office of Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research (IC&SR), IIT
Madras.
The key objective was to bring together experts from across the country and discuss how India
can advance in the field of Laser Systems and develop the technology indigenously.
The workshop was organized by the DRDO Industry Academia – Ramanujan Centre of
Excellence (DIA-RCoE), IIT Madras, and the Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras.
It provided an opportunity to the research scholars, scientists, next-generation faculty, and
industry captains to know about this disruptive technology which is going to be a game changer
in defence technology.
Considering the domination of drones in the sky and in the sea, lasers are being explored for
weapon, communication and many more applications. In order to achieve ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’
in this domain, the workshop intends to lay a clear approach for futuristic development after
brainstorming and panel discussion among the eminent professors, industry experts, scientists
and researchers for development of technology and systems for our defence services.
Addressing the workshop, Shri Haribabu Srivastava, Director General (Technology
Management), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), said, “The
speed with which other countries are moving forward in this technology is tremendous and we
need to move fast as well and reduce the gap between India and rest of the world. We need to
take current capabilities to where the world is today and marshall the resources required to
achieve this. The technology should be home-grown and not imported.” Shri.Haribabu
Srivastava emphasised to prepare a road map along with sharable with various Institutions who
have domain expertise.
Speaking earlier, Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy, Scientific Adviser to Raksha Mantri, Ministry of
Defence, Government of India, said, “We have to develop technologies on a timeline similar
to the other countries. Laser is a key technology with enormous applications in areas ranging
from healthcare and manufacturing, especially precision manufacturing and the defence sector.
Weaponisation of laser has already begun with an example being the Iron Dome project of
Israel, which has now been upgraded with lasers.”
Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy added, “We need to make not only the technology but also the critical
sub-systems and components in India. We need to look at a synergistic approach between
different institutions.”
Eminent Professors from various IITs across the country are participating and delivering talks on
Laser technology. They include professions from IIT Mandi, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Bombay, IIT
Delhi, IIT Hyderabad, IISc Bengaluru, and IIT Madras, among others. Other experts from
Industry and Research Institutions are also delivered talks in this domain. The officials who took
part were from various institutions including SFO Technology, BEL, DRDO – CHESS
Hyderabad, NPOL Kochi and CSIR – CGCRI, Kolkata.
Speaking earlier, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “We need to establish a
‘Defence Incubator’ that will develop technologies not only for the strategic sectors but will also
have civilian uses. The civilian applications will lead to commercialization, which will generate
funds to ensure sustainability of the products being developed. ‘Atmanirbhar’ can be achieved
only when defence sector products have a civilian component as well.”
Prof. Manu Santhanam, Dean (Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research), IIT Madras,
Prof. Balaji Srinivasan, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras and Dr. O.R.
Nandagopan, Director, DRDO Industry Academia- Ramanujan Centre of Excellence’ (DIA-
RCoE), also spoke on the occasion.
ABOUT IIT MADRAS
Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) was established in 1959 by the Government of India as an
‘Institute of National Importance.’ The activities of the Institute in various fields of Science and Technology
are carried out in 16 academic departments and several advanced interdisciplinary research academic
centres. The Institute offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes leading to B.Tech., M.Sc.,
M.B.A., M.Tech., M.S., and Ph.D., degrees in a variety of specialisations. IITM is a residential institute
with more than 600 faculty and 9,500 students. Students from 18 countries are enrolled here. IITM fosters
an active entrepreneurial culture with strong curricular support and through the IITM Incubation Cell.
Recognized as an Institution of Eminence (IoE) in 2019, IITM has been ranked No.1 in the ‘Overall’
Category for the fourth consecutive year in India Ranking 2022 released by National Institutional Ranking
Framework, Ministry of Education, Govt. of India. The Institute has also been ranked No.1 in the
‘Engineering Institutions’ category in the same Rankings for seven consecutive years – from 2016 to
2022. It was also adjudged as the ‘Top innovative Institution’ in the country in Atal Ranking of Institutions
on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) in 2019, 2020 and 2021. ARIIA Ranking was launched by the
Innovation Cell of Ministry of Education.
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