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Desert warfare system
Desert warfare system: INTELLIGENT TEXTILES, desert warfare systems and wargaming technologies are some of the key areas that have been identified by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) as part of the Deep Tech research under Technology Development Fund (TDF).
A separate allocation of Rs 500 crores has been made for these advanced technology projects with defence applications, informed Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth in a written reply to MP Naveen Jindal in the Lok Sabha recently.
Jindal had sought to know if the government had approved the new Deep Tech and Cutting-Edge policies under the Technology Development Fund (TDF) Scheme and if so, sought details of the projects along with their key features and objectives.Seth said in his reply, “An additional grant or corpus of Rs 500 crore has been approved by the Defence Minister to cater for deep-tech and cutting edge projects as separate verticals under TDF. The process of the selection and identification of Deep Tech projects has been initiated. Currently, nine projects are launched under this initiative by TDF.”
He added that nine industries are engaged in four projects sanctioned through DRDO Industry Academia Centres of Excellence (DIA-CoEs) under the grants in aid scheme of DRDO.
Seth told the House that the projects cover research areas such as Intelligent Textile Technologies, Desert Warfare Technologies, War-gaming Technologies, Powder Metallurgy, High Power Microwave Sources and Devices, Advanced Ballistics, Photonic Technologies, Aerospace Systems and Materials, Micro and Nano Systems Science and Technology, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Quantum Technology, Naval Systems and Naval Technologies, High Power CW Laser Source, Additive Manufacturing, Advanced Materials and Processing, Advanced Nano Materials and Sensors based on Semiconductors.
Intelligent Textiles are fabrics that can sense, react, or adapt to environmental conditions or user input. Desert Warfare systems are military equipment and mechanisms specifically designed for effective combat operations in hot, arid, and sandy desert environments. Wargaming Technologies and essentially simulation tools are softwares used to model military operations for training, planning, and strategic decision-making.
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Seth also provided a list of 55 institutes from 20 states in India that have undertaken a total of 302 projects in these areas. These include two institutes from Pune including Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT) and the College of Engineering, Pune (COEP).
He added, “DRDO has a Long Term Directed Research Policy (LTDRP) for engaging academia. Projects are monitored at three stages in regular intervals throughout the year. Technical evaluation committee (TEC) evaluates the new project proposals and does regular technical progress monitoring. Research Advisory Board (RAB) reviews the new projects recommended by TEC and also monitors sanctioned projects for their progress and addresses the techno managerial issues of Centre of Excellence (CoE) and the projects. The Governing Council approves the projects, oversees the overall functioning of the Centre and projects sanctioned through the Centre.”