The National Research Development Corporation (NRDC), celebrated its 72nd Foundation Day with the inauguration of the Systems Engineering Facility (SEF) on 31 December 2025 in the presence of, Dr. N. Kalaiselvi, Director General, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Secretary, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Government of India and other dignitaries.

Addressing the gathering, Cmde. Amit Rastogi (Retd.), Chairman & Managing Director, NRDC, highlighted NRDC’s journey over seven decades and its renewed focus on enabling deep-tech commercialization, supporting startups and MSMEs, and creating robust institutional mechanisms that bridge the gap between research outcomes and market deployment. He emphasized NRDC’s strategic initiatives aligned with national priorities, including Viksit Bharat@2047, Startup India, and Atmanirbhar Bharat, and reiterated NRDC’s commitment to building globally competitive, indigenous technologies.

Following the CMD’s address, the event witnessed the exchange of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between NRDC and the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE). The MoU marks a significant milestone in collaborative innovation and capability building, aimed at strengthening systems engineering practices.

A major highlight of the occasion was the inauguration of the Systems Engineering Facility (SEF), a transformative national initiative of NRDC established in strategic collaboration with Pimpri Chinchwad College of Engineering (PCCoE), Maharashtra. The Systems Engineering Facility was inaugurated by the Chief Guest, Dr. N. Kalaiselvi, Director General, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Secretary, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Government of India, in the presence of Cmde. Amit Rastogi (Retd.) CMD, NRDC and other senior officials from NRDC, Mr. Prasanna Ramamurthy, President, INCOSE, and Dr. G. N. Kulkarni, Director, PCCoE. In her address, Dr. Kalaiselvi underscored the critical role of systems engineering in managing technological complexity, accelerating innovation, and ensuring that indigenous technologies mature into scalable and deployable solutions.

The Systems Engineering Facility has been conceptualized as a national platform to empower incubated startups, MSMEs, and innovators by bridging the critical gap between ideas and validated technological solutions. By institutionalizing structured systems engineering practices, SEF provides end-to-end support across the innovation lifecycle, including requirements analysis, system architecture design, modeling and simulation, integration, verification, and validation.

The Foundation Day celebrations also underscored NRDC’s broader mandate of facilitating technology transfer and strengthening industry participation in publicly funded research outcomes. The event witnessed the signing and exchange of technology licensing agreements, including an electric tractor technology developed by CSIR–CMERI, West Bengal, licensed to M/s Mistrijee Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Patna in the presence of Dr. Naresh Chandra Murmu Director, CMERI, CSIR and a sustainable vegan leather alternative developed by CSIR–NIIST, Thiruvananthapuram, licensed to M/s EcoSolutions Pvt. Ltd.,in the the presence of Dr. Nishy P. Chief (BD) NEIST, Trivandrum produced entirely from plant-based resources and agro-residues.

Recognizing excellence, innovation, and outstanding contributions by its employees, NRDC also presented awards in multiple categories. The Best Employee (Non-Technical) award was conferred on Ms. Khushboo, (Public Relations & Corporate Communications) for her role in enhancing NRDC’s brand visibility. The winner & runner Ups for Technology Presentation was awarded to Ms. Prithee Niharika Deputy Manager and Ms. Priyanka Aswal, Senior Technical Assistant respectively   while the award for the Naming and Logo Designing Contest for AI enabled Technology Exchange was presented to Dr. Akanksha Jain, Deputy Manager, NRDC.

NRDC also announced seed funding support of ₹30 lakh each to VoltWorks Technologies Pvt. Ltd. for its automotive-grade VoltWorks Powertrain electric vehicle solution, and support to Tri Nano Technologies for its advanced nano-coating technology for solar panels, which enhances efficiency while significantly reducing maintenance requirements and resource consumption.

In addition, NRDC launched the MSME–Technology Transfer Facilitation Centre, aimed at empowering MSMEs by providing financial support of up to 70% for IP protection and technology acquisition. The program helps reduce innovation-related costs, strengthens competitiveness, and enables faster commercialization of technologies, reinforcing NRDC’s role as a national catalyst for deep-tech innovation and inclusive growth

The 72nd Foundation Day celebrations and the inauguration of the Systems Engineering Facility underscore NRDC’s continued commitment to fostering a robust innovation ecosystem in India. Through structured systems engineering practices, technology transfer initiatives, and support for startups and MSMEs, NRDC is enabling indigenous research to evolve into scalable, market-ready solutions.           

      

 

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