Palaj, Gandhinagar: Indian Army signed an MoU with IITGN on Tuesday (December 27, 2016) for long-term collaboration with Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) in which the Army will set up a Research and Development (R&D) Cell at IITGN Campus.

The research cell will work with the faculty and research students to identify problems and possible solutions for the Indian Army. The agreement will also enable IITGN and Indian Army to collaborate in various other areas including better understanding of critical technology requirements of Indian Army, sharing of professional and technical knowledge, and other similar activities of mutual interest.

Speaking on the occasion, Lt Gen Subrata Saha, said, “The MoU was an unprecedented initiative which would result in meaningful realization and efficient transfer of research into customized solutions for the Indian Army. There are several issues faced by the Indian Army that needs to be addressed. For example, we can have lighter and better bullet proof jackets, better and lighter materials to build bunkers and so on. There is a whole lot of inventory even in the aircraft engines that can be done in India. We are very hopeful that this indigenization will take place at a fast pace through such MoUs.”

Indian Army will also share their experiences with IITGN students and faculty and find possibilities of conducting short term courses and lectures at the institute.

Lt Gen Saha said, “We are absolutely confident that with the way we are going ahead by associating with institutes such as IITGN, Indian Army will win wars with Indian solutions.”

IITGN Director Prof Sudhir Jain said, “The Indian Army, particularly those posted in the harsh weather conditions, face diverse problems and we want to understand and address these problems. The plan is to have a Research Centre at IITGN through which our students and faculty can be in continuous touch with the Indian Army in researching and addressing these problems. This is just a beginning of academia-army relationship.”

DeshGujarat