IIT Guwahati launches ‘Manekshaw Centre’ to boost national security innovation

The Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati will establish nodal centers across India to boost defense and national security research in coordination with the Ministry of Education.

These centers will serve as a unified communication platform linking the Armed Forces, security agencies, and academic and research institutions.

The Manekshaw Centre, leading the effort, aims to drive advanced education, innovation, manufacturing, and research-based consulting in defense technology.

The initiative is spearheaded by IIT Guwahati Director Devendra Jalihal, with participation from Manindra Agrawal, Director of IIT Kanpur and Deputy Chief Patron of the Manekshaw Center of Excellence, and Lt Gen Dr Subrata Saha (Retd), Executive Chairman and COO of the Centre.

According to IIT Guwahati, the concept was jointly developed by Lt Gen Saha and Prof Sukumar Nandi, Dean of Administration at IIT Guwahati, as a way to bring IITs, IISc, IIITs, and NITs onto a single collaborative platform for defense and security research.

“Manekshaw Center will act as an interface between Indian academia and defense forces. IITs, IISc, IIITs, and NITs will be the members of the center,” said Prof Jalihal.

“The center will periodically carry out dialogues 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,” added Prof Jalihal.

Senior officials from the Ministry of Education, including Secretary Vineet Joshi and Joint Secretary Saumya Gupta, were also present during the discussions.

Separately, IIT Guwahati has launched the GATE 2026 website.

Applications will open on Aug 25, with the deadline for submission without a late fee set for Sept 25.