Delhi, December 22: The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) and Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to foster collaboration in the areas of research, education, training and technology support for defence and internal security.

The MoU was inked by Distinguished Scientist & Director General (Production Coordination & Services Interaction) Dr Chandrika Kaushik and Vice Chancellor, RRU Prof (Dr) Bimal N Patel in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at South Block, New Delhi. Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman, DRDO Dr Samir V Kamat was also present on the occasion.

The MoU aims to strengthen India’s self-reliance in defence and internal security technologies, in line with the national vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and the whole-of-nation approach during Amrit Kaal. It reflects a shared commitment to integrating technology, knowledge and operational insight to enhance national security preparedness and reinforce India’s strategic autonomy in internal security.

The Rashtriya Raksha University, an institution of national importance under the Ministry of Home Affairs and the University Grants Commission (UGC)-designated Nodal Centre for Defence Studies, brings strong academic, training and policy expertise in the domain of internal security.

The DRDO, the nation’s premier defence R&D organisation, contributes cutting-edge indigenous technologies and system-level expertise to meet the requirements of the Armed Forces and security agencies.

Under the MoU, both organisations will collaborate on joint research projects, PhD & fellowship programmes and specialised training and capacity-building programmes for security forces.

The collaboration will also include studies on emerging operational challenges, technology gap analysis, forecasting of future requirements, and life-cycle management of DRDO-developed systems inducted into the Central Armed Police Forces and other agencies under the Ministry of Home Affairs.