DRDO inaugurates research centre in Delhi to boost indigenous quantum capabilities
Spearheaded by the Solid State Physics Laboratory (SSPL), QTRC also focusses on foundational technologies, including an ultra-small atomic clock based on coherent population trapping for highly-precise timekeeping in the Global Navigation Satellite System-denied environments, an atomic magnetometer using optically pumped magnetometry for ultra-sensitive magnetic field detection, and cutting-edge solid-state quantum devices and materials.advertisementThe inauguration ceremony was graced by Director General (Micro Electronic Devices, Computational Systems and Cyber Systems) Suma Varughese, whose vision and leadership were instrumental in conceptualising this cutting-edge facility. DG (Resource and Management) Dr Manu Korulla and directors of SSPL and SAG, senior scientists and other dignitaries attended the function.As a key stakeholder in the national quantum mission, DRDO is committed to fostering indigenous innovation and developing sovereign quantum technologies to secure India's strategic future.Must Watch
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
Engines of Independence: Why the heart of India's fighter jets must beat at home
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads From Launchpads to Dogfights Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads The Kaveri Engine: A Dream That Shaped a Generation Why Fighter Engines Are the Everest of Propulsion Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads A Measured Climb, Not a Blind Leap From Metal to Mastery The Hybrid Path: Independence Without Delay A Factory for the Future When the Sky Roars in Our Own Voice Each Independence Day, the flypast over Delhi's Red Fort is a theatre of sovereignty. Formation after formation cuts through the sky, a demonstration that India can design, build, and fly its own combat aircraft. But the crowd cannot hear one truth: most of those engines, the very heart of these machines, are Behramkamdin, Business Head, Aerospace at Godrej & Boyce, has a vantage point few others possess. His company's journey from producing locks in 1897 to building rocket engines for ISRO mirrors India's long march towards high-precision engineering. Speaking to us ahead of Independence Day, Behramkamdin puts the challenge into perspective:'If you have a beautiful car without an engine, it's just a showpiece. The same applies to aerospace. We've done well in avionics, actuation systems, and other aircraft subsystems, but without our own engine, we're only halfway there.'The point is clear: without mastery over propulsion, India's aerospace sovereignty is aerospace journey began with rocket launches. In 1985, it started with precision tooling for ISRO. From there came the Vikas engine, the cryogenic stages that carried Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan, and a partnership so deep that Behramkamdin says: 'Any rocket launched from Sriharikota with an ISRO logo will have at least one component, if not an entire module or engine, made at our Vikhroli plant.'Under Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's mentorship, Godrej entered defence propulsion for missiles before taking on aviation. Today, almost half its aerospace business serves the skies, including all eight modules for DRDO's 50 kN Kaveri derivative quest for a home-grown fighter jet engine began in the 1980s with the Gas Turbine Research Establishment's (GTRE) Kaveri programme. Conceived alongside the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, the Kaveri was intended to free India from reliance on foreign was an audacious leap and one fraught with challenges. Unlike airframes, engines demand mastery of exotic alloys, high-temperature materials, and microscopic tolerances. Very few nations, the US, Russia, France, and the UK among them, had Kaveri engine's initial prototypes delivered around 70–78 kN of thrust with afterburner, short of the 90 kN target needed for the Tejas. Technical hurdles, from turbine blade metallurgy to afterburner stability, combined with funding interruptions and shifting priorities, led to its eventual decoupling from the LCA to write it off as a failure would be to miss the point. The Kaveri built an ecosystem: design teams, test facilities, metallurgy expertise, and private-sector engagement. Godrej, for instance, manufactured eight major Kaveri modules and delivered two complete engines to GTRE. These capabilities remain the bedrock of India's next propulsion push.'The Kaveri gave us the know-how. Now we need the national will to take it forward, first to 90 kN, then to 120 kN for AMCA,' says Behramkamdin. The Kaveri was not the last word. It was the first sentence in a story India has not finished are bursts of glory, one ignition, one ascent, one job done. Fighter jet engines are the opposite: decades of relentless service, igniting thousands of times, enduring dust, salt, monsoon moisture, Himalayan chill, and desert heat. They demand rare alloys, faultless tolerances, and endurance trials that last longer than some aircraft has already indigenised most missile materials. Rare earth extraction in Odisha is progressing. Composites remain a bottleneck. But as Behramkamdin points out, 'No major engine maker operates in total isolation. But we can reduce dependency to the bare minimum.'Today, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian industry are close to another leap. The fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) will need an engine capable of producing around 110–120 kN of thrust, a technological cautions against trying to leap there in one bound.'Jumping straight from 50 kN to 120 kN is like trying to leap from 2G to 5G in one step. Possible, but far riskier. An intermediate 90 kN engine, building on the Kaveri programme, could serve the Tejas Mk-2 and give us invaluable learning before aiming for AMCA's full requirement.'It is a pragmatic approach: develop a 90 kN class engine first, prove reliability, and expand upwards. This 'spiral development' model, where capability evolves in stages, mirrors how successful aerospace powers like the US and France achieved propulsion is not caution for its own sake. It is the engineering truth that sustained progress is built in stages. Skip one, and the whole structure may evolution from 'build to print', making parts to someone else's drawings, to 'build to spec', designing, engineering, and testing from scratch, is the true sign of sovereignty. Godrej is now in that second this year, an MoU with the Aeronautical Development Agency was signed. As part of this MoU, Godrej will be developing flight control actuators for AMCA. Moreover, investment in metal 3D printing would reduce waste by 80%. High-temperature brazing improves turbine blade performance.'It's not just machines and materials,' Behramkamdin insists. 'It's people. We've trained them, and we know how to make.'Behramkamdin sees opportunity in India's space programme. 'With our experience in rocket propulsion, where we've mastered metallurgy, materials, and manufacturing precision, I see no reason why we can't succeed in aero engines. The overlap in skills is huge.'Behramkamdin's plan is pragmatic: design AMCA to fly with an imported engine while developing an indigenous one in parallel. When it is ready, swap it in. This way, the aircraft is not hostage to the pace of engine R&D, yet the nation still gains the knowledge, facilities, and industrial base it argue that waiting for an indigenous engine risks delaying fighter projects like AMCA. Behramkamdin's solution is a hybrid model.'Acquire an off-the-shelf engine to meet immediate needs, while developing our own in the background. That way, we avoid delays while still building long-term capability.'It is a doctrine that blends urgency with patience, speed with depth, much like the way ISRO built its cryogenic engines over decades, refusing to abandon the goal after early is an approach that prioritises readiness without sacrificing sovereignty, a balance India must strike as geopolitical tensions demand rapid capability the Kaveri taught India anything, it is that engine development demands not just technical skill but political stamina. Stop-start funding and shifting strategic goals can kill momentum faster than any design flaw.'We need continuity in policy and funding,' says Behramkamdin. 'We must stop shifting focus midway through programmes. If we align government, industry, academia, and startups under a national mission, we can succeed.'Godrej is already putting down its own marker: a Rs 500 crore greenfield aerospace facility in Khalapur, Maharashtra, due in 2028, with full aero-engine manufacturing capabilities aimed at both domestic and global can land on the Moon and send a probe to Mars, but its frontline fighters still borrow their heartbeat. For Behramkamdin, closing that gap is more than an engineering milestone.'It is a matter of will,' he says. The day an AMCA lifts off under an Indian-built engine will not just mark a new phase in defence capability. It will be the sound of a nation's voice, roaring across the sky, unmistakably and irreversibly its its heart, this is about more than defence hardware. A fighter jet engine is a symbol of sovereign capability. It says to the world that India can power its own defence, write its own technological destiny, and never be hostage to supply chain India can marry the Kaveri's legacy with AMCA's ambitions, guided by the hard-earned lessons of ISRO and the grit of its private sector, then by the 2040s the roar of a fully indigenous engine could be more than just a technical achievement. It could be a declaration of independence as profound as the one celebrated every August.'We've built world-class precision manufacturing capabilities,' Behramkamdin reflects. 'Now we need to channel them into making an indigenous aero engine a reality. That will be a true step towards Atmanirbhar Bharat.'
Time of India
16 hours ago
- Time of India
Goodbye, Frequent FASTag Recharges! NHAI Launches Annual Pass for Rs 3,000
After Operation Sindoor, IAF Ramps Up Missile Arsenal With Over 200-km Range To Dominate Skies Fresh from the stunning success of Operation Sindoor, the Indian Air Force is now set to supercharge its arsenal with long-range precision weapons capable of hitting targets over 200 km away. In Sindoor, IAF jets used BrahMos, SCALP, Rampage, and Crystal Maze missiles to smash enemy airbases from 250-450 km, staying safely beyond Chinese HQ-9 air defences. Now, DRDO is developing extended-range Astra missiles, while the IAF eyes Russia's deadly R-37 for unrivalled reach. Project Kusha long-range air defence is being fast-tracked, alongside plans for two more S-400 squadrons, systems that already forced Pakistani jets deep into their own skies. With Rafales, fifth-gen fighters, and a new missile doctrine, India is preparing to dominate future wars in the air, ensuring the next Sindoor will be even more decisive. 70 views | 3 hours ago
Time of India
17 hours ago
- Time of India
Putin's NUCLEAR Teaser Before Alaska Summit Sends Shockwaves In US; Makes Big Reveal On Trump Talks
After Operation Sindoor, IAF Ramps Up Missile Arsenal With Over 200-km Range To Dominate Skies Fresh from the stunning success of Operation Sindoor, the Indian Air Force is now set to supercharge its arsenal with long-range precision weapons capable of hitting targets over 200 km away. In Sindoor, IAF jets used BrahMos, SCALP, Rampage, and Crystal Maze missiles to smash enemy airbases from 250-450 km, staying safely beyond Chinese HQ-9 air defences. Now, DRDO is developing extended-range Astra missiles, while the IAF eyes Russia's deadly R-37 for unrivalled reach. Project Kusha long-range air defence is being fast-tracked, alongside plans for two more S-400 squadrons, systems that already forced Pakistani jets deep into their own skies. With Rafales, fifth-gen fighters, and a new missile doctrine, India is preparing to dominate future wars in the air, ensuring the next Sindoor will be even more decisive. 70 views | 2 hours ago
