Self-reliance in strategic materials vital to Atmanirbharta: Former Scientific Advisor to Def Min

Achieving self-reliance in strategic materials along with their manufacturing capabilities is vital to secure the goal of Atmanirbharta in defence production, G Satheesh Reddy, former Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister, said here on Friday. Reddy, who is also the president of the Aeronautical Society of India, was speaking at the inauguration of the Industry Connect meet on 'Strategic Materials and Manufacturing Technologies' organised by CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST) on its campus at Pappanamcode here, a release by the institution said.

He said it was important to develop and produce, within the country, the strategic materials which are part of critical equipment systems.

''Availability of natural resources is the key factor but the nation has to find alternatives in the event of their shortage,'' Reddy is quoted in the release as having said at the event.

Reddy, also the former Chairman of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), was of the view that linkage of research-and-development laboratories and industry was very important, and labs should know how to manufacture industrially and commercially viable products, the release said.

He also emphasised on the need to ensure quality of products and the technology used for production.

''In the last 15 years, the country has worked a lot on many of the required materials in various laboratories. Studies have been conducted on availability of minerals including in the West coast but still we are dependent on many things from outside,'' he said.

He called for a focused approach on smart materials, saying that unlike other technologies that are getting updated every day. Generally, the material development cycle is about 15-20 years.

''We should look at how these cycles can be improved,'' he added.

Reddy also referred to the 1,14,260 startups in the country and said that the mindset of youngsters is globally competitive and therefore, academic institutions in materials should be leveraged and students needed to be encouraged.

C Anandharamakrishnan, Director, CSIR-NIIST, Thiruvananthapuram, presided over the function.

In his presidential address, Anandharamakrishnan said that earlier the country was looking to import materials for defence systems and now the country is making all efforts to manufacture them in India itself, and exporting them, the release stated.

''This is possible due to the skilled manpower we generated in the country and the advances in research in the Defence sector. NIIST has signed an MoU with HAL for Magnesium-Aluminium composite material and two projects are currently going on as per the tie-up,'' he is quoted in the release as having said.

He also said that NIIST was keen to support the Defence sector in whichever manner it needed and is looking for greater collaboration with DRDO.

On the occasion, an MoU between CSIR-NIIST and Saarloha Advanced Material Pvt Ltd, was exchanged for the development of advanced ceramics or materials and CO2 capturing materials, extraction of synthetic rutile from Ilmenite, recovery of critical metals from industrial waste and e-waste and extraction of rare earth metals, the release said.