Gujarat: Industry leaders, academicians discuss localisation of defence testing, tech innovation
Gandhinagar, June 16
The Government of Gujarat's testing, calibration, and research organisation, Electronics & Quality Development Centre, on Tuesday held a workshop dedicated to strengthening India's domestic defence testing, validation, and certification ecosystem.
According to a press release from the Gujarat Chief Minister's Office, the 'Defence Testing, Certification & Infrastructure Development' workshop, held at the organisation's campus, brought together distinguished leaders from the government, defence forces, academia, startups, innovators, and industry. Panellists discussed building stronger linkages between skill development, research, and indigenous manufacturing to better align with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' (Self-Reliant India).
KC Sampat, Managing Director, iNDEXTb, was the keynote speaker at the event. Experts who presented their views included NM Desai, Former Director, Space Applications Centre; Colonel Tarun Kumar (Retd.), Strategic Business Consultant and former senior Project Management Officer, Indian Army; Commodore Manish Tripathi (Retd.), Chief Technology Officer (Systems), IIT Gandhinagar; and Kalpesh H. Wandra, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Rashtra Raksha University.
The press release stated that during the event, KC Sampat (IAS) said, "A strong testing and certification ecosystem is essential to achieve self-reliance in the defence sector. Collaboration between institutions and industries will play a vital role in innovation and development."
Stressing the importance of localised research and development through startups and innovators, he added that such robust domestic systems are crucial to reducing India's import dependency. He emphasised the importance of building a future-ready defence ecosystem by bringing together policy, skilling, infrastructure, innovation, and industry participation in an integrated manner. The focus is to strengthen key pillars such as infrastructure, innovation and startups, exports and global partnerships, research-to-production linkages, ensuring comprehensive ecosystem development.
Space Scientist NM Desai noted, "Only through the systematic integration of science, technology, and research will we be able to develop a defence system capable of meeting future challenges." Similarly, IIT-Gandhinagar's Manish Tripathi emphasised that "collaboration between industry, academia, and the research sector can take India to new heights in the field of defence innovation."
The workshop served as an important platform for knowledge exchange, highlights of which included emerging opportunities in defence technology, indigenous development, and strategic future alliances. Discussions centred on building stronger collaboration between the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), defence public sector undertakings, academia, industry, and startups, alongside the development of institutional mechanisms and centres of excellence to support long-term growth, the press release said.
According to the release, the broader objective is to move from fragmented efforts to a coordinated, scalable ecosystem where skilling, research, manufacturing, and the market are fully aligned. True self-reliance requires building robust, indigenous "systems of trust" supported by accredited labs, certified bodies, and exceptionally skilled local talent.
As a self-sustained organisation under the Industries and Mines Department of the Government of Gujarat, EQDC stands as a natural home for this mission. The organisation's elite clientele already includes ISRO's Space Applications Centre (SAC), the Indian Air Force, and the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), the release stated.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Interesting to see a state government taking initiative in defence testing — usually it's all central DRDO. But I worry about duplication of efforts. Without clear coordination with national labs, we might waste resources. Still, localised innovation is good if done right.
As someone who works in defence R&D, I can say that testing infrastructure is our biggest bottleneck. We have great designs but no certified labs to validate them. EQDC's work with SAC and ONGC is proof that state-level bodies can fill this gap. Kudos to Gujarat govt for thinking ahead. 👏
All this talk of "self-reliance" sounds nice, but where are the specific timelines? We've been hearing about Atmanirbhar in defence for years, yet our armed forces still depend on foreign spares. Let's demand concrete deliverables — how many new testing labs in 2 years? How many startups supported? That's what matters.
Great to see IIT Gandhinagar involved — linking academia with defence needs is a smart move. Our students can work on real problems instead of just publishing papers. But we also need to ensure that these centres of excellence don't become just another bureaucratic setup. Execution is key! 🎯
As a defence analyst, I see potential here but also a risk: states may compete rather than collaborate. If Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka all build separate testing centres, we'll have fragmentation instead of synergy. EQDC should become a model that can be replicated without reinventing the wheel each time.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.