25 Nov : There is a need to optimise spin offs from defence technology to help civilians, Union Defence Minister A K Antony said in Kochi on Monday..
The well being of a nation lies not only in defending its external borders, but also assuring the safety of its ordinary citizens and protection of economic wealth in the wake of external and internal threats," he said after handing over Defence Technology Spin off products– Light weight callipers and Sanjeevani Life Detecting Device to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) member N V C Menon and Ernakulam District Collector M Beena at Kochi on Monday.
Antony, on his first visit to the National Physical Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL) at nearby Kakkanad, said the NPOL model for development of sonar systems should be emulated by all Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) laboratories.
In this model, systems under development at NPOL are readied for concurrent production and delivered to the Navy and NPOL’s efforts over the last three decades have helped the country in achieving self reliance in sonars, both for ships and submarines.
Lauding the application of missile material technology for the benefit of polio victims, he said Kerala has a very low incidence of polio due to high literacy and health awareness.
Distribution of calipers made of materials developed under missile technology to over 23,000 children has been of great help, he said. Sanjeevani — a life saving device, developed by NPOL and produced by Keltron — was used during the Gujarat quake.
Antony said that the NDMA should promote its use in various situations through district administrations and fire stations.
Antony said DRDO has been asked to provide an additional 150 such devices free of cost to the state government and also give the technology free to Keltron to manufacture it in large numbers.
The minister said that based on NPOL’s design, a division of Bharat Electronics at Bangalore was working on production of sonar systems.
Nine systems and more than 50 installations have been completed and the production value of these systems has crossed Rs 650 crore. The expansion plans of the Navy were bound to escalate the production value, he said.
The Centre is setting up a BHEL unit close to NPOL, the foundation stone of which will be laid by the minister on 26th November.
This proximity would further strengthen the interaction between NPOL and BHEL and facilitate efficient transfer of technology, he said.
In his Presidential address, M Natarajan, Scientific Advisor to the Defence minister, said the scientific community has been enthused with the minister appreciating the need for greater self-reliance and indigenization.
"India should develop adequate capablity in sensors and propulsion," he said, adding that it would be dangerous to depend on foreign products, especially sensors.
Many of the life sciences products are available for technology transfer, he said."Drive out Coca Cola through Tender Coconut drinks which have larger shelf life," he said.
Dr A Sivathanu Pillai, DRDO chief controller and Chief Executive, Brhahmos Aerospace, said they had set a target of providing about one lakh children this year with DRDO developed calipers which weigh 300 gms and cost Rs 800, almost half of conventional calipers, which weigh about three kg.
Standardising the calipers was a challenge. Measurement from about 1000 children were taken and now calipers for children are available in seven standards.
He said Indonesia has evinced interest in the Sanjeevani product, designed to detect live human beings trapped under debris of collapsed buildings or landslides or endangered mines.
The DRDO is working with ISRO to develop a Tsunami warning device, he said."Efforts are also on to have all weather roads. The first prototype is being made by the Border Roads in avalanche prone areas," he said.
Prof N V C Menon said there are 229 districts in zone 4 and 5 in India which can face high-intensity earthquakes and it is necessary that Sanjeevani be produced on a mass scale, he said.