Visakhapatnam: Naval Science & Technological Laboratory (NSTL) Director and Outstanding Scientist Dr Y Sreenivas Rao on Thursday said that with the continuous efforts of scientists & technologists, nearly 95 percent of the components of the missiles and torpedoes being developed by DRDO are indigenous.

In his speech at the National Technology Day (NTD) being observed to commemorate the successful nuclear test, Operation Shakti (Pokhran-II) conducted on May 1998 in Pokhran in Rajasthan and Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, NSTL, the premier naval research laboratory of Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) here, Dr Rao expressed strong belief that with the combined involvement of public, private organisations and academic institutions, India would become top nation in Research & Development.

Guest of Honour Prof. DVLN Somayajulu, Director, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design & Manufacturing (IIITDM), Kurnool, gave an insightful talk on “Importance of Global Technology Interventions in the Development of Advanced Systems”.

He touched various concepts like disruptive & global technologies, business intelligence, data science, data analytics, generative Artificial Intelligence.

Distinguished Guest DG Dr. GN Rao (Retd) explained in detail the background and how Operation Shakti is executed with the code name ‘Laughing Buddha’ in May 1998 and Mission Shakti in May 2019.

He told confidently that DRDO creates history with full utilization of state-of-the art technological advancements.

Earlier in her welcome address, Dr. TVSL Satyavani, Scientist ‘F’ & Chairperson NTDC-2023, informed that around 6,200 students visited Open House & Exhibition on May 9 and 10, 2023.

On this occasion, Titanium Medal and Director’s Commendation Certificate has been presented to Anand Kumar, Scientist ‘E’ for his oration on “Development of Pyro-based Torpedo Release Mechanism”. Also, Arun Naskar, Senior Technical Assistant ‘B’ gave presentation on a mini project “Wireless Shaft Power Measurement System”.

Raja Ramanna Fellow, DRDO participated as a Distinguished Guest.

Earlier, all the dignitaries along with scientists, officers & staff garlanded the statue of Bharat Ratna Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, at the entrance of NSTL on the occasion.