Category: Press Release

New Delhi, 25th May 2023. Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has said that technologically advanced military is crucial to protect the interests of the nation. Inaugurating a two day DRDO- Academia conclave in New Delhi on 25 May, 2023, Shri Rajnath Singh stressed that for a country like India, it becomes vital to have such military as it faces double threat on borders.

“Today we are one of the largest armed forces in the world, the bravery and valour of our military is praised all over the world. Countries across the world express their willingness to conduct joint exercises with our armed forces. In such a situation, it becomes imperative that we have a technologically advanced military to protect the interests of the country. For a country like India, it becomes very important because we are facing double threat on our borders,” Raksha Mantri said.

Underscoring the significance of the theme of the conclave “DRDO-Academia Partnership – Opportunities & Challenges”, Shri Rajnath Singh said, it is dire need that DRDO and Academia work in partnership with each other to find solutions to the challenges being faced by us in the 21^st century. “This partnership will prove helpful in making India a leading nation in defence technologies,” he said.

Raksha Mantri underlined that the path to acquire advanced technologies traverses through research and development (R&D) which plays a key role in the development of any country.

“Unless we do research, we will not be able to adopt new technologies. R&D has the ability to convert ordinary substances into valuable resources. It has been a key factor in the development of civilizations throughout the history,” Shri Rajnath Singh added. He expressed confidence that as partnership between DRDO and Academia reaches new heights, the fruits of this partnership will unlock potential of many new resources, which will benefit the entire country.

“I don’t see the partnership between DRDO and Academia from the point of view of 1+1=2, but as 1+1=11. That is, when these two entities cooperate with each other, not only both of them will get double benefit, but the entire nation will be benefited greatly from this partnership,” Shri Rajnath Singh said.

Elaborating on the benefits of the DRDO – Academia partnership, Raksha Mantri stressed, through this synergy, the DRDO will get a skilled human resource base from eminent institutions like IISC, IITs, NITs and other universities from across the country as these institutions, nurture a large pool of talented and skilled youth.

“On the other hand, the academia will be benefited from the R&D fund of DRDO that it spends in developing new technologies, and will also get access to the advanced infrastructure and lab facilities of the defence research organisation. This symbiotic relationship will prove helpful in further enhancing the start-up culture in our country,” pointed out Raksha Mantri.

Shri Rajnath Singh further emphasised that such technologies developed through collaboration and collective efforts could have applications in both civil and defence sectors.

Raksha Mantri also urged the DRDO scientists and academia to deliberate on the option of deployment of the scientists of DRDO as faculty in the academic institutions for a specific period, which will give a new perspective to our Academia, whereas the intellectuals of Academia can also serve on deputation as a scientist within DRDO.

On the occasion, Raksha Mantri felicitated eminent scientists who have made outstanding contributions in the area of Aeronautics, Armaments, Life Sciences and Naval systems and other DRDO requirements through the grant-in-aid DRDO projects. He also released a Compendium of Invited talks about thrust areas for academia in understanding the requirements and opportunities in DRDO.

Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman of DRDO Dr Samir V Kamat, Scientific Adviser to Raksha Mantri Dr G Satheesh Reddy, Director General (Technology Management) Shri Hari Babu Srivastava, Former Secretary – Department of Science & Technology Prof Ashutosh Sharma, and senior officers of Ministry of Defence and senior scientists from DRDO and academia were present on the occasion.

The two-day conclave aims to create an interface between DRDO’s requirement and Academia’s capability by a synergistic dialogue between DRDO Directors, scientists and academicians. The Conclave will have one plenary session and four technical sessions on Aeronautics, Naval, Life Science and Armament. It is being attended by about 350 senior academicians across the country.

New Delhi, 25th May 2023. Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has called upon industry leaders to come up with innovative solutions to help India become a ‘leader’ from an ‘imitator’ in futuristic technologies and stay prepared to deal with challenges emanating from the current global security scenario. He was addressing the annual session of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in New Delhi on May 25, 2023. The theme of the session was ‘Future Frontiers: Competitiveness, Technology, Sustainability and Internationalisation’.

The Raksha Mantri asserted that, in today’s era, security equations are changing at an unprecedented pace and countries are focusing more than ever on technological advancements in the fields of artificial intelligence, quantum computing & genetics etc. He termed it as both – a challenge of not lagging behind in the race of technology as well as an opportunity of making a mark, with the aim to help the nation leapfrog on the path of progress.

Shri Rajnath Singh described Research & Development (R&D) in cutting-edge technology as the only way to achieve this goal, stating that it opens new dimensions crucial for the development and security of any nation in today’s times. “We need to set new goals and achieve them through innovative methods to keep ourselves prepared to deal with any challenges arising out of the ever-evolving global situation. R&D has the ability to convert things, which are viewed as resources, into resources. Technology improves the utilisation of the available resources. It acts as a force multiplier,” he said.

The Raksha Mantri stressed on the need for R&D to achieve excellence in various fields, including defence, health, education, agriculture, commerce & communication, stating that it can give the country an edge over the others. “To keep ourselves strong, we need to maintain our edge in these sectors. It will be possible only if we become technology leaders,” he said.

Shri Rajnath Singh pointed out that there are two faces to the technology paradigm across the globe – one of a leader nation which grabs an opportunity, innovates & invents a new technology and the other of an imitator which follows the leader. Stating that new technological avenues are coming to the fore without any established leader, he exhorted the industry captains to strive to make India a technology leader from an imitator. He urged them to increase their in-house R&D funding and make inroads in new & untouched sectors/products/goods & services through new technologies.

The Raksha Mantri listed out the key requirements for a nation to become a technology leader, such as a substantial capital, a robust R&D infrastructure, demography as well as the ability to adopt, understand & create a base of previous technologies. He stated that the Government has taken a number of steps, such as banking policy, regulatory policy, providing funds, labour policy, education & health policy, which provide a playfield to the youth and the industry to work together and take R&D in the country to greater heights.

Shri Rajnath Singh also shared his insights on another dimension of technology, which he called ‘Socio-Economic Technology’, commonly referred to as governance. He was of the view that the country’s population, which was once considered a liability, is now being viewed as an asset. “India is currently passing through Demographic Dividend. Policies have been rolled out for the optimum utilisation of this population. We have strengthened the ease of doing business and ease of living in India through the socio-economic technology of good governance. Reforms have been made in the education and health sectors, which focus on making the population educated as well as healthy & skilled,” he said.

Emphasising that an educated and healthy manpower helps in increasing the productivity manifold, the Raksha Mantri exuded confidence that the Government’s efforts will convert the demography into a ‘wealth creating resource’ from mere ‘wealth consuming entity’.

Shri Rajnath Singh described the youth as the most crucial aspect of the demographic dividend, stating that the continuous growth of start-ups in the country is a result of the potential, energy and enthusiasm of the young Indian minds. “Today, there are about one lakh start-ups in the country; of which more than 100 are unicorns. Without much resources, our start-ups are competing with bigger entities with their passion. Our industries need to work with the same passion to compete with global giants,” he said.

In the context of Global Giants and Indian industries, the Raksha Mantri spoke about the ‘Technology incumbent Challenger model’, in which the challenger has more incentive to invent new technology. “The global giants may be technology incumbents due to their superior technology; but our industry, which is relatively small, is a technology challenger. It will have more incentive to invent new technology,” he said.

Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Dr Samir V Kamat, other senior officials of Ministry of Defence and industry captains were among those present on the occasion.

• One-stop shop for wind turbine spare parts and essentials
• Expanded offerings, including other-OEM products
• Simpler, streamlined platform

New Orleans, LA. On 23^rd May GE Vernova announced the launch of its expanded online marketplace for onshore wind parts. With more than 100,000 items available for purchase, for both GE and other OEM onshore wind turbines, the store will enable wind farm owners to purchase all the spare parts and wind farm essentials that they need, in one simple transaction.

Uzair Memon, Chief Commercial Officer – Services, for GE Vernova’s Onshore Wind business, said “We’re excited to launch this expanded online platform, providing greater value and benefit to our customers, while also helping to increase efficiency and reduce turbine downtime. We’ve heard a lot of feedback from our customer base that it would help them to be able to access both GE and other OEM parts all in one location, and we are pleased to work with a variety of experienced and reliable suppliers to offer this.”

Bernardo Bandeira, Global eCommerce Leader shared, “Our new platform makes it even easier and quicker to order the parts that you need— a one stop shop that build on our world class on-time delivery capabilities”

The marketplace specializes in onshore wind spare parts, including parts for all major wind turbines OEM. Additional offerings include wind farm essentials such as tooling, safety gear and office supplies.

GE Vernova’s Onshore Wind Online Shop also helps customers to improve cashflow, with flexible credit options, digital invoicing, and the ability to purchase from multiple suppliers all in one location with a single purchase order.

GENEVA, Switzerland, 22nd May 2023. Pratt & Whitney Canada, a business unit of Pratt & Whitney, announced on 22nd May that it has delivered the 1,000^th PW308C turbofan engine to Dassault Aviation for the Falcon 2000 series. The company also announced the production of the 6,000^th engine in the overall PW300 family, which has changed the face of business aviation.

“The PW308C engine is special, as its selection at the National Business Aviation Association in 2000 was the first time Dassault opted for one of our engines for its prestigious business jet portfolio,” said Anthony Rossi, vice president, Sales and Marketing, Pratt & Whitney Canada. “The PW300 family of engines made its debut at the 1985 NBAA and the 6,000^th-engine-milestone is ample proof of the engine’s enduring appeal in the business aviation community, its exceptional performance and its ability to constantly reinvent itself.”

The PW308C served Dassault’s intention with the Falcon 2000 to combine the aircraft’s short-field capabilities with transcontinental range. It was also the first Dassault business jet to be fully conceived with digital design software. To this day, the Dassault Falcon 2000 is the company’s top selling business aircraft in the Falcon family.

Pratt & Whitney Canada’s collaboration with Dassault Aviation began 60 years ago, when the original Mystère-Falcon 20 launched with JT12 engines. Our collaboration with Dassault Aviation grew as our PW307A/D engines were selected to power the Falcon 7X and 8X. The PW812D-powered Falcon 6X will enter into service this year.

The PW300 engine also powers aircraft from Textron which is the only airframe OEM to use P&WC engines to power helicopters, turboprops, and business jets; the fleet of P&WC-powered Textron aircraft has flown 350 million hours – more than one-third of the hours flown by the entire P&WC fleet at one billion hours. The PW300 also powers premier platforms such as the Gulfstream G200, the Bombardier Lear 60, the Dornier 328JET and Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo. The engine family has flown 26 million hours and currently powers 2,500 aircraft around the world.

This year, P&WC is also celebrating 1 billion hours flown by its entire engine fleet and the company will be celebrating this and other milestones throughout 2023.

About Pratt & Whitney

Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft and helicopter engines, and auxiliary power units.