COIMBATORE: Padma Shri awardee and distinguished defence scientist Dr Prahalada Ramarao on Monday said Dr A P J Abdul Kalam’s vision of indigenous innovation and mission-first leadership continues to guide India’s journey towards ‘Viksit Bharat @2047,’ appealing to youth to build nationally relevant technologies at scale. Delivering the Dr A P J Abdul Kalam memorial address during the annual day of the Kumaraguru Centre for Industrial Research and Innovation (KCIRI) at Kumaraguru Institutions, the former DRDO chief controller and former vice-chancellor of Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT) drew from his 27 years association with Dr Kalam to outline reforms that, he said, reshaped India from a defence importer into a technology maker. Dr Prahalada recalled how Dr Kalam had spearheaded indigenous missile programmes Agni, Prithvi, Akash, Nag and Trishul at a time when India depended on imports for core military needs. He said Dr Kalam anticipated the strategic value of supersonic cruise missiles in the 1990s and persuaded the govt to co-fund the BrahMos joint venture with Russia, which has since emerged as a sought-after system globally, reinforcing the principle: “Make for India, and the world will follow.” On manufacturing and scale-up, he highlighted Dr Kalam’s early introduction of the development-cum-production partner (DCPP) framework, integrating Indian industry during design and R&D rather than after development, enabling faster and cost-effective production for systems such as the Akash missile. He said the approach later became a DRDO operating standard. The address cited defence-to-civilian technology transfers, including the ‘Kalam-Raju Stent’ developed using rocket-grade titanium to cut stent costs sharply, and lightweight carbon-composite calipers adapted from missile materials to improve mobility for polio-affected children. Dr Prahalada pointed to administrative measures such as same-day campus recruitment and special procurement teams, and said Dr Kalam’s “Your project is your boss” ethos and failure-management lessons enabled complex, multi-agency missions.
