Headquarters, Integrated Defence Staff, CSIR tie up for R&D in defence tech

A Memorandum of Understanding between the Headquarters, Integrated Defence Staff and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) was signed here on Thursday for technical collaboration, joint research and development in the field of defence technology, the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

The MoU was signed by Lt General JP Mathew, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC), Ministry of Defence (MoD) and N Kalaiselvi, Director General, CSIR & Secretary, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Ministry of Science & Technology (MoST).

The MoU between the HQ IDS and CSIR aims to provide an umbrella framework for initiating collaborative interaction between CSIR Labs, HQ IDS and armed forces, namely Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force, for enhancing scientific understanding of technologies related to defence and undertaking joint research and development in dual-use technologies.

The Defence Ministry added that the HQ IDS and CSIR both share a common interest in undertaking joint research and development in defence technologies for mutual benefit, in the true spirit of 'scientific cooperation in support of Indian Armed Forces'.

This partnership will also accelerate the indigenisation efforts of the armed forces for achieving 'Atma Nirbhar Bharat'.