THE foundation stone for the construction of DRDO established IIT Bombay & IIT Madras bi-nodal ‘Centre of Propulsion Technology’ (CoPT) was laid at IIT Bombay premises by Union Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Subhash Bhamre today. Calling it a crucial step towards making Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Make in India’ come true, he said that we aim at self-reliance even in defence R&D. He said that the centre was aimed at developing futuristic technologies and products. Such developments call for a great amount of inter-disciplinary collaboration and focused efforts, which DRDO will whole-heartedly extend.
DRDO Chairman and Secretary, Defence (R&D) Dr. S Christopher presided over the function. Director of IIT Bombay Prof. Devang Khakhar, Director of IIT Madras Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi and Chief Controller of DRDO Mr. MH Rahaman were also present on the occasion.
DRDO Chairman and Secretary, Defence (R&D) Dr. S Christopher called the CoPT a marriage of great minds. He said that, through such centres, we can overcome constraints of resources and move towards self-reliance to take the nation ahead. Director of IIT Bombay Prof. Devang Khakhar, in his welcome address, congratulated all the teams involved and wished them great success to make the projects sanctioned under CoPT a grand success. Director of IIT Madras Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi said that joint collaboration was the need of the hour. An agreement was entered into on July 9, 2016 at IIT Bombay amongst DRDO, IIT Bombay and IIT Madras for establishing the CoPT.
CoPT, as the main centre of propulsion technology, will engage with the primary research nodes (IIT Bombay and IIT Madras) and other research institutions/ centres to undertake advanced collaborative research in critical defence technology areas. CoPT will facilitate and undertake multidisciplinary directed basic and applied research in the focused areas of like Futuristic aero-engines, Hypersonic propulsion for long duration flight, Solid propellant combustion modelling, Morphing aircraft including its propulsion and associated technologies addressing the emerging defence and security needs. The CoPT will plan the research activities in consultation with DRDO, coordinate and progress research activities with the Primary Research Nodes and other academic institutions including any industry, as required, and enhance technology maturity in respective areas. CoPT is envisaged to emerge as a centre of excellence, conducting basic and applied research in the areas of aero-propulsion technologies, and achieve recognition as one among the best research centres in the world in its domain within the next decade.