We Can Fund Upto Rs 10 Crore to Develop Innovative Products, Says DRDO Chairman

Chairman of Defence, Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) G Satheesh Reddy on Friday said it would fund upto Rs 10 crore for research projects to promote and develop innovative products. "The DRDO has a scheme 'Technology Development Funding' to spend on young graduates, those who can join incubation centres and have an idea to convert into a design and a product and we'll support them with Rs 1 crore," he said.

Reddy was delivering the convocation address on Friday after handing over degrees to 293 students of the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing (IIITDM), Kancheepuram, through virtual platform.

Noting that the country was looking for innovation from the youngsters, he said it is technology that can make the country prosperous. "Come out with new technologies, innovate first-of-its-kind products. Our products have to go all over the world. The world should be flooded with products from India," said Reddy, also the secretary of the Department of Defence (research and development). Maintaining that the product developed in the country with innovation should be priced lower but offer reliability, he said the quality of the product should be good only then could the product be sold the world over.

"That is how we will earn a lot of foreign exchange. And that is how the country becomes prosperous," he said. A country to become prosperous, the seed is with the institutes like IIITDM where people learn about technology, science and come out with design and manufacturing, he said. "I would like to say that DRDO supports these things in a big way," he said. Appealing to the new graduands, he said through the website of DRDO, a student or an institute can look for options to use the funds from the DRDO.

"If you are establishing an industry and you come out with a design; and if we see that the design is useful for the defence of the country, we can fund you upto Rs 10 crore, that is, through an industry," he said. IIITDM chairman (Board of Governors) professor S Sadagopan and IIITDM Director professor D V L N Somayajulu were among those present on the occasion.

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