IIT Guwahati to Establish Manekshaw Centres for Defence and Security Research

Under the aegis of Ministry of Education, the centre will act as single window communication to bridge the gap between the Armed Forces, Security Agencies and Academic, Research Institutions

Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati is leading the initiative to set up nodal centres for defence and national security research throughout the country. Established under the aegis of Ministry of Education, Government of India, and led by Prof. Devendra Jalihal, Director, IIT Guwahati, the “Manekshaw Centre” is working towards next-gen education, innovation, productisation, manufacturing and research-based consulting/operations.

To support the initiative, a high-level delegation recently briefed Hon’ble Education Minister. Shri Dharmendra Pradhan Ji, on the establishment of a Nodal Centers in Indian Premier Institutes dedicated for Defence and National Security Research.

Speaking about the initiative, Prof. Devendra Jalihal, Director, IIT Guwahati, said, “Manekshaw Center will act as an interface between Indian Academia and defence forces. IITs, IISc, IIITs and NITs will be the members of the centre. The centre will periodically carry out dialogs with defense agencies and will participate actively to define and design systems for Indian security needs. It will work towards finding Indian solutions thus fulfilling the aspiration of Atmanirbhar Bharat.”

Highlighting the need of inter-institutional collaborations, Education Minister of India, Dharmendra Pradhan ji expressed strong support for the initiative. He underlined the Ministry’s commitment to supporting the Manekshaw Centre in building a robust innovation ecosystem that brings academia, defence, armed forces, security agencies and industries together to address the evolving challenges of national security.

Aligning with the Govt. of India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat mission, this visionary initiative will unite IITs, IISc, IIITs, and NITs on a collaborative academic and research platform focused on defence technology and national security.

Currently the Manekshaw Centre includes: IITs: Guwahati, Madras, Kanpur, Jodhpur, Dharwad, Delhi, Bombay, Kharagpur, BHU-Varanasi, ISM-Dhanbad, IISc Bangalore and IIIT Delhi.