Guwahati: The Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati will lead a national initiative to set up Manekshaw Centres for Defence and National Security Research in premier institutions across the country.
Established under the Ministry of Education, the centres will act as a single-window link between the armed forces, security agencies and academic and research institutions to develop indigenous defence technologies.
A delegation led by IIT Guwahati Director Prof. Devendra Jalihal recently briefed Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on the plan to establish nodal centres in IITs, IISc, IIITs and NITs.
The delegation included IIT Kanpur Director Prof. Manindra Agrawal and Lt Gen Dr. Subrata Saha (Retd.), Executive Chairman of the Manekshaw Centre. Senior ministry officials, including Secretary Vineet Joshi and Joint Secretary Saumya Gupta, attended the meeting.
Prof. Jalihal said the centres will provide a platform for regular dialogue with defence agencies and design systems suited to India’s security needs.
The first centre, the Manekshaw Centre of Excellence for National Security Studies and Research, was set up at IIT Guwahati in March 2025.
Institutions already part of the network include IITs Guwahati, Madras, Kanpur, Jodhpur, Dharwad, Delhi, Bombay, Kharagpur, BHU-Varanasi, ISM-Dhanbad, IISc Bangalore and IIIT Delhi. More are expected to join.
The initiative will promote collaboration with start-ups, industry and global institutes, and focus on areas such as asymmetric warfare, hybrid threats and non-contact warfare.
It will also organise workshops, ideathons and conferences involving the armed forces and other national security stakeholders.
