The VIF under the S&T series organised a talk on “Compound Semiconductors Emerging Trends” by Ms. Suma Varughese, Distinguished Scientist & Director General, Micro Electronic Devices, Computational Systems & Cyber Systems (MED & CoS), DRDO on 19 September 2024. The meeting focused on the importance of compound semiconductors, and discussed its growth and potential applications in various industries, the need for strategic advantage, collaboration between academia, industry, and government support for defence technology innovation.

The VIF under the S&T series organised a talk on “Global Supply Chain: Resilience, Digital Transformation & Sustainability” by Dr Arshinder Kaur, Professor at the Department of Management Studies, IIT Madras, on 9 September 2024. The meeting focussed on the importance of understanding and developing resilient, sustainable, and socially responsible supply chains in the context of geopolitical issues and global vulnerabilities. The participants discussed the need for understanding the global supply chain situation with regard to India and develop its own supply chains.

This report is an outcome of a study conducted by the Vivekananda International Foundation to find out the causes of shortfall in performance and work out recommendations for further reforms in the defence sector. This study was conducted in four components, including four thematic roundtables chaired by prominent personalities like the former Defence Secretary, former Secretary Defence (R&D), former Secretary (DST) and the Vice Chancellor of DIAT; several subject-specific seminars; study of Defence Technology Ecosystems (DTEs) of important countries and review of previous Indian studies.

Under the Science & Technology series, the VIF organised a talk on “Enigma of Hypersonic Flight” by Prof Gopalan Jagadeesh, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore on 14 March 2024. Prof Jagadeesh provided a broad overview of enigmatic nature of basic scientific, engineering and technological issues pertaining to hypersonic flight. He highlighted implications of hypersonic technology in commercial and military fields.