“Research and Innovate to make the future secure,” was the advice to budding engineers at the special lecture by Satheesh Reddy, Chairman, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), at the Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT), here recently.

A release issued here said that the event, the first of an upcoming series of talks to kick off ‘TechTatva 2019,’ MIT’s annual technical fest, was conducted in collaboration with the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE).

Dr. Reddy, who also serves as the Secretary of the Department of R&D in the Ministry of Defence, and the Director-General of the Aeronautical Development Agency, in his address spoke on India’s advances in defence technology.

He highlighted the importance of academia, R&D organisations and the quality of production for defence advancements. He spoke about stealth technologies, autonomous submarines and tanks, life support systems, and the fifth dimension of warfare.

Dr. Reddy also spoke about the current status of India’s military,

including the country’s indigenous aircraft like the LCA Tejas. He gave the audience a detailed insight into ‘Mission Shakti,’ an anti-satellite test conducted on March 27, 2019, which proved a great success and moved India into a select group of nations with the ability to intercept outer-space satellites.

The talk was followed by a question-answer session, where the audience asked the speaker a variety of questions on subjects ranging from foreign policy to his experiences in the Defence Ministry.

Arvind Kumar, Associate Director of the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, Srikanth Rao, Director, MIT, were present.