NITI Aayog member VK Saraswat was felicitated at the Defense Sciences Conclave at NRI Institute of Technology and Pharmacy in Vijayawada on Friday. | Photo credit: Special arrangement
Scientist and NITI Aayog member Vijay Kumar Saraswat said on Friday that the central government has significantly increased the allocation for the defense sector in the Union Budget to ensure that India’s defense capabilities remain globally competitive.
Addressing the ‘Defence Science Conclave’ organized by the NRI Institute of Technology and Pharmacy, Vijayawada, in collaboration with the Academy of Science, Technology and Communication (ASTC), Hyderabad, to commemorate the legacy of former Scientific Advisor to the Minister of Defense and architect of India’s Defense Research and Development Infrastructure Suri Bhagavanas Indiawaamd and former President Sari Bhagavanas IndiawaamdAP, engineering students to live they were interested in defense research and contributed to strengthening the national security framework.
“Defence science today is a highly multidisciplinary field,” he said, recalling that before 1947, India’s defense manufacturing facilities were established by the British primarily to support their war effort during World War II.
“While weapons and equipment were supplied from the UK, ammunition factories were set up in India to handle repairs, maintenance and supply chain support for these imported systems,” he said.
He said that immediately after independence, India faced an undeclared war with Pakistan over Jammu and Kashmir. “Though the conflict was not formally declared, India successfully defended and held territory. This experience made it clear that the nation needed to develop the capability to fight future wars using indigenous equipment and technology,” he said.
India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, realized this strategic necessity and envisioned a scientific organization similar to the United Kingdom’s defense research structure, and under the leadership of his close associate Patrick Blackett, a scientific adviser to the British government, initiated the creation of the Indian Defense Research Framework, he recalled.
Mr. Saraswat recalled the key role played by Daulat Singh Kothari, a renowned physicist from Udaipur, Rajasthan, in the formation of the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and the role of leading scientists namely Suri Bhagavantam, Raja Ramanna and others who laid the foundations of India’s independent and independent defense sector in the development of nuclear weapons.
He said that from a handful of laboratories in 1952, DRDO has now expanded to a vast network of laboratories engaged in various areas of defense research.
Former Vice-Chancellor of JNTU-Hyderabad and former Chairman of DRDO DN Reddy urged young engineers to develop defense systems that meet international standards. He urged them to take up this responsibility and work to build technologies capable of effectively countering emerging threats.
Scientists SV Narayana Murthy and R. Ballumrali Krishna, molecular biologist Ch. Mohan Rao and Manoj Kumar also spoke while Mangalayatan University Jabalpur vice chancellor krs Sambasiva Rao, Nri Institute of Technology C. Naga Bhaskar, CEO M. Teja Sai, Academic Director G. Sambasva Rao, astc secretary astc secretary cl Narasmha Rao were present.
Published – 06 Feb 2026 23:29 IST