“I am delighted to be with all of you today, particularly in the session on Emerging Technologies and presentations by young scientists.  It is indeed a new initiative encouraged by our Prime Minister. He suggested that young scientists below the age of 35 years be given an opportunity to innovate and explore frontier areas.  With this in view, DRDO has taken the momentous step of setting up five Young Scientists’ Laboratories working in five niche technology areas such as Artificial intelligence, Quantum Technologies, Cognitive Technologies, Asymmetric Technologies and Smart Materials. Having seen the five presentations today, I am confident that DRDO’s initiative has been worthwhile.

Today we see technology evolution across various landscapes at an unprecedented intensity and scale. This means that we need to develop a strong understanding as well as insights on these technological changes and anticipate focus areas in order to first gain, and then maintain, a competitive edge. This is critical not just for geopolitical and national security reasons, but also to ensure that we sit at the high table in global dialogues and initiatives in the field of innovation as well as trade and commerce.

I suggest three R’s: Requirement, Resources and Relevance as key factors in determining our country’s quest for advancement in emerging technologies.

Our requirement is to seek advancement in key technologies of future to safeguard our national interest in a constantly evolving geo-political arena and ensure socio-economic progress through application of such technologies.  Our pursuit of technological advancement is not for exerting influence or dominating others but to make it a level-playing field.

Availability of key resources could be a limiting factor in this quest. This could, on the other hand, offer an opportunity to innovate. Using such initiatives in emerging technologies, DRDO must hone its skills so as to become a net producer of value-added resources.

The third R is relevance. These emerging technologies must be relevant to development efforts.  Spin-offs from these emerging technologies would support our progress in various spheres. For example, space related technologies developed by ISRO help farmers in many ways. Similarly, innovative use of artificial intelligence in agriculture, manufacturing industry, and even use of smart materials could be of immense relevance to various sectors of the economy.

Today’s technology edge is driven by two key performance parameters: technology assessment and technology forecasting. Future of technology landscape will be determined by what drives the future and who drives it. Early bird not only gets choicest pickings but also long-term dividend. The capability of early forecasting of technological innovations and investing accordingly into ‘intellectual capital’ is essential in this respect.  The best investment would be in young graduates from our country’s premier institutions, who have the potential to match with the pace of a fast-changing world. Young scientists will be capable of making desired advances in next generation technology and innovation, provided they are supported by an ecosystem which allows them freedom to think and execute.

The young scientist labs should not operate in silos.  They should keep abreast with associated researchers in related fields and the requirements of the industry.  This logic extends to the cross-platform integration of focus areas in these five labs, because the focus areas are interdependent in their technological premise as well as applications.  Hence, they need to talk to each other.

Fast-paced developments in technology sector offers several opportunities, but also many challenges. Many projects in these laboratories might face long gestation periods. One should note that the evolution cycle does not make a project obsolete. 

A mechanism also needs to be evolved to monitor the progress against the stated objectives, and constantly update with international developments in related fields. We do not wish to end up in a scenario where we are found to be reinventing the wheel.

At the same time, I do appreciate that sometimes, the value of an idea is evident only with the passage of time.  Therefore, if it appears prima facie to be of relevance in our national context it should be pursued, and not given up just because its immediate utility appears to be limited.

Another aspect is that outcomes of our research and technology development should be such that it is possible to scale it up in the industrial context and real-life situations.  Increased scale will lead to its usefulness and also competitiveness in terms of price and affordability.

I must also take this opportunity to touch upon an important issue here.  When we talk about enabling ecosystem we should not limit ourselves to providing it in just the labs so that our young scientists can work freely and without any encumbrance.  We should ask the question, whether we have addressed the issue of how these labs source chips to further their research?  From where will they get critical equipment to support their quest?  How will they find raw materials to experiment? Trade of many, or perhaps all of these items, might be under international safeguard mechanisms and protocols. We have to give adequate thought to it. In fact, these labs must be linked to indigenous development of ‘supporting hardware’ in chips, materials and so on. This will truly be in line with our Prime Minister’s another flagship initiative in Make in India.

We should not just be content with developing new technologies and their applications. We must aspire to become global leaders and important stakeholders in new international protocols, which are bound to be formulated and reformulated as the world sees a constant transformation in technological and innovation landscape. I look forward to seeing our share in patent applications from these focus areas rise manifolds in the years to come.

These five labs will offer a useful template of R&D in the field of emerging technologies in our country. Their success is essential for our country gaining pole position in this global race, where shelf-life of products as well as technologies is getting increasingly shorter. This is a bus we cannot afford to miss, if we want to achieve a decent quality of life for our citizens and a say which is commensurate with our requirements and ambitions in international platforms.

I once again compliment the efforts made by the young scientists. The quality of their presentations indicate that they have the incentive, capability and potentials to take DRDO’s research and development activities to new heights.”

ABB/SS/Nampi/Savvy/ADA

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