Thursday, June 14, 2007

NASSCOM, DRDO Collaborate to Develop Innovative Technologies

National Association of Software and Services Industry (NASSCOM), the Indian IT industry lobby, has signed a deal with the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to focus on developing innovative technologies.

Under the terms of the memorandum of understanding, NASSCOM’s expertise will complement DRDO’s capabilities to develop advanced projects for the IT industry. In addition, the agreement will enhance the involvement of the IT software companies for DRDO’s development projects.

DRDO’s advanced military systems projects are increasingly relying on software, thus, its partnership with NASSCOM is essential for the development of its software projects related to radars, electronic warfare systems, flight control systems, avionics, missile systems, and command, control, and communication systems.

According to Kiran Karnik, the President of NASSCOM, the partnership with the Indian R&D agency will allow NASSCOM to focus on creating an innovative ecosystem.

DRDO has been successful in developing various innovative technologies across areas, such as aerospace, control systems, communication, etc. This was the prime reason for NASSCOM to choose DRDO as its partner. In addition, the Indian IT industry is moving up the value chain in these areas, and thus, DRDO’s expertise is very relevant and of interest to the industry.