Welcome Remarks by Dr Arvind Gupta, Director VIF

Dr G Satheesh Reddy, distinguished guests, members of the media, ladies and gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to welcome Dr G Satheesh Reddy, Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to the VIF for today’s Vimarsh talk on ‘DRDO’s Achievements in Defence Indigenization’.

By conducting a successful Anti Satellite Test Mission-Shakti on 27th March 2019, DRDO and its team of scientists and engineers have made every Indian proud. Our heartiest congratulations to the DRDO for this sterling achievement.

Dr G. Satheesh Reddy is well known for his significant contributions towards indigenous design, development and deployment of a wide range of tactical and strategic missile systems to attain complete self-sufficiency in these areas. He initiated several new projects to equip Armed forces with state-of-the-art weapons and technologies.

As Scientific Advisor to Raksha Mantri, Dr Reddy contributed significantly towards the formulation of many national policies, and was pivotal in evolving a roadmap for self-sufficiency in missiles. As Director General, Missiles and Strategic Systems, he spearheaded the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex Laboratories which includes Advanced Systems Laboratory, Defence Research & Development Laboratory and Research Centre Imarat. He invigorated the Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) programme and developed the mission critical technologies for Long Range Agni-5 missile.

Dr Reddy graduated in Electronics and Communication Engineering from JNTU, Anantapur and received his M.S & Ph.D. degrees from JNTU Hyderabad. He joined the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad in the year 1986 and subsequently worked in Research Centre Imarat (RCI), the brainchild of Dr Kalam, after its formation. He holds the distinction of being the Fellow of Royal Institute of Navigation (FRIN), London, Royal Aeronautical Society, UK (FRAeS) and Foreign Member of the Academy of Navigation & Motion Control, Russia. For his distinguished contributions, Dr Satheesh has received several prestigious international and national awards.

Dear Friends, seventy percent of our Armed Force’s requirement are still imported. Dependence on imports of defence equipment constitutes a national security vulnerability. Indigenization of defence production is the need of the hour. The ASAT test conducted by DRDO scientists has once again highlighted the organisations tremendous contribution towards indigenization of defence technologies and production. The DRDO has made great contribution in developing high technologies and strategic systems for the defence of the country. India is today self-reliant in its need for different kinds of missiles, radars, electro-magnetic weapon systems, sonars, torpedoes, communication system. Prithvi, Agni, Akash, Nag and Brahmos missiles made by DRDO are today household names. This is largely due to the efforts of the DRDO. India is one of the four nations to have a successful BMD capability. In recent years, indigenously made Arjun Tank and Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas have been inducted in the armed forces. DRDO has been successful in helping create an ecosystem of defence technology in the country. Many of India’s leading academic institutions are working with DRDO. Nearly 1200 industries are producing products for DRDO’s programmes.

High profile achievement notwithstanding, there have been some gap as well, particularly, in the making of arms, ammunition, detector and platform. Indeed, India cannot rest on its past laurels. Much more needs to be done. The needs of the armed forces are growing. Large scale programmes in hypersonic missiles, UCAVs, long range radars, robotic systems etc. are needed. The country’s needs in arms and ammunition also have to be met. New technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data analytic need to be mastered. The country has to absorb the ongoing industry 4.0 revolution. Clearly DRDO, industry and academia have to work together in a collaborative mode to master these technologies and produce new products. India will also need to pay attention to overhauling its science, technology, engineering, mathematics education and innovation.

We could not have had a batter person than Dr Satheesh Reddy to talk about DRDO’s achievements and the future direction of its work.

I invite Dr Reddy to deliver his talk.