**Executive Summary**
On January 27, 2026, Secretary (Defence Production) Shri Sanjeev Kumar virtually interacted with Directors/Deans of leading academic institutions, including IITs, NITs, and IISc, along with DPSUs and other stakeholders. The discussions focused on aligning academic research with defence production needs and evolving structured mechanisms for sustained engagement. The initiative aims to foster long-term national capability development through academic collaboration.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Focus of the Interaction:**
* Aligning academic research with the needs of defence production.
* Evolving structured mechanisms for sustained engagement.
* **Key Deliberations:**
* Fostering long-term, student-driven research in academic institutions.
* Strengthening Academia-DPSU collaboration beyond short-term projects.
* Institutionalising structured initiatives for providing insights into futuristic technologies.
* **Ministry's Objective:**
* Leveraging academic strengths to build a resilient, self-reliant, and future-ready defence technology ecosystem.
* Adopting a consultative format with the Department of Defence Production.
* **Expected Outcome:**
* Facilitating effective translation of academic research into deployable defence capabilities.
* Providing the Ministry with deeper insights into academic research capabilities and perspectives.
**Impact Analysis**
**Leading Academic Institutions (IITs, NITs, IISc, and others)**
* **Impact:** Opportunity to contribute to national defence capabilities through aligned research and collaboration with DPSUs.
* **Action Required:** Adopt a consultative format with the Department of Defence Production and foster long-term student-driven research initiatives.
**Department of Defence Production (DPSUs)**
* **Impact:** Enhanced access to academic research and collaboration opportunities for developing defence technologies.
* **Action Required:** Collaborate with academic institutions on research projects and support long-term, student-driven initiatives.
**Ministry of Defence**
* **Impact:** Gaining deeper insights into academic research capabilities and leveraging them for a resilient, self-reliant defence technology ecosystem.
* **Action Required:** Facilitate and support collaborative projects between academic institutions and DPSUs.
**Students**
* **Impact:** Opportunities for long-term student-driven research.
* **Action Required:** Engage in research projects and collaborate with the Department of Defence Production.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Defence: The Indian government ministry involved in the virtual interaction with academic institutions to align research with defence production.
Secretary (Defence Production): Key individual (Shri Sanjeev Kumar) who led the interaction between the Ministry of Defence and academic institutions.
IITs, NITs and IISc: Leading academic institutions participating in the alignment of research with defence production.
Department of Defence Production: A department within the Ministry of Defence that academia will adopt a consultative format with.
Ministry of Defence
Secretary (Defence Production) interacts with
Directors/Deans of leading academic institutions
Focus on aligning academic research with defence
production needs & evolving structured mechanisms for
sustained engagement
प्रव तथ: 27 JAN 2026 8:37PM by PIB Delhi
Secretary (Defence Production) Shri Sanjeev Kumar held a virtual interaction with Directors/Deans of
leading academic institutions, including IITs, NITs and IISc, along with DPSUs and other stakeholders in
New Delhi on January 27, 2026. The discussions focused on aligning academic research with needs of
defence production and evolving structured mechanisms for sustained engagement. Key areas of
deliberations included fostering long-term student-driven research in academic institutions, strengthening
Academia-DPSU collaboration moving beyond short-term project-based collaboration, and
institutionalising structured initiatives for providing insights into futuristic technologies. This would help
in facilitating effective translation of academic research into deployable defence capabilities.
Expressing gratitude to the participants for their valuable inputs, the Secretary (Defence Production) stated
that such interactions would provide the Ministry with deeper insights into academic research capabilities
and perspectives. He urged the academia for adoption of a consultative format with Department of
Defence Production to enable long-term national capability development.
The interaction was attended by Director, IIT Madras Prof. V. Kamakoti; Director, IIT Kanpur Prof. M.
Agrawal; Director, IIT Bombay Prof. S. Kedare; Director, IIT Hyderabad Prof. B.S. Murthy; Director, IIT
Gandhinagar Prof R. Moona; Director, IIT Tirupati Prof K. N. Satyanarayana; Director, IIT Guwahati Prof
D. Jalihal; and other senior professors from 24 premier academic institutions of the country.The interaction reaffirmed the Ministry of Defence’s commitment to leveraging the strengths of the
nation’s premier academic institutions in building a resilient, self-reliant, and future-ready defence
technology ecosystem in collaboration with industry partners.
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VK/Savvy
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