Indigenous tech: Army, IIT Madras Pravartak tie up to set up NIC at Avadi

CHENNAI: The Indian Army's Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) partnered with the IIT Madras-incubated IITM Pravartak Technologies Foundation to co-develop indigenous military technologies, setting up a Nodal Indigenisation Centre (NIC) at Avadi on Thursday.

The collaboration aims to establish a structured pipeline for identifying field-level requirements, developing solutions, and transitioning them to deployment, thereby reducing dependence on external sources for critical systems. It will integrate academic research, industry capabilities and operational inputs from the Army to bridge gaps between laboratory innovation and battlefield needs.

The memorandum of understanding was signed here by representatives of the Corps of EME and Pravartak, a Section 8 company and Technology Innovation Hub under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems, hosted by IIT-M.

The NIC at Avadi is expected to leverage Tamil Nadu's defence industrial ecosystem and strengthen the State's defence corridor as a manufacturing and innovation hub. The initiative is being facilitated by the Army's HQ Base Workshop Group and Directorate of Indigenisation.

"India's journey toward self-reliance in defence technologies requires strong synergy between the armed forces, academia and innovation ecosystems. This partnership will accelerate solutions that are technologically robust and operationally relevant," said MJ Shankar Raman, CEO, IITM Pravartak Technologies Foundation.

Maj. Gen. Lalit Kapoor, VSM, Commander, Base Workshop Group (EME), said the collaboration would enhance operational readiness, upgrade legacy platforms and build niche capabilities while reducing dependence on external sources.

Lt Gen Karanbir Singh Brar (Retd), Strategic Advisor, Pravartak, said indigenisation was an operational necessity, and the Avadi centre would provide startups and industry easier access to defence problem statements.

Focus areas include sensing systems, cyber-physical and autonomous technologies, with joint validation, field trials and productisation. A joint steering committee will oversee project selection and alignment, aiming to speed up translation of research into field-ready systems.