Defence Research & Development Establishment (DRDE) is an Indian defence laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Located in

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the ...

, it is primarily involved in the research and development of detection and protection against toxic chemical and biological agents. DRDE is organised under the Life Sciences Directorate of DRDO. The present director of DRDE is Dr. Manmohan Parida.

History

In 1924, the Maharaja of Gwalior established a research laboratory to explore forest products and mineral resources. In 1947, the Jiwaji Industrial Research Laboratory (as the lab was known) was inaugurated by C. Rajagopalachari, the then Governor General of India. In 1966, it was taken over by the Ministry of Defence. As its research activities expanded, in 1973, JIRL was made a separate laboratory, and renamed as Defence Research & Development Establishment. Advanced Biological Defence Research Centre (ABDRC) will be set up under DRDE as a Biosafety level 4 laboratory that will work on highly contagious virus, their effects on human being, and developing safeguards.

Area of work

DRDE is the primary defence laboratory involved in the development of NBC detection and protection systems. It conducts research in the fields of

biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology ...

microbiology Microbiology () is the scientific study of microorganisms, those being unicellular (single cell), multicellular (cell colony), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virology, bacteriology, ...

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...

Virology Virology is the scientific study of biological viruses. It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host cells for reproduction, th ...

and toxicology. It conducts safety and toxicological evaluations of hazardous chemicals and materials. It also develops rapid diagnostic tests for pathogens and investigates preventive measures for the control of diseases. To protect from

Chemical weapons A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized munition that uses chemicals formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), this can be any chemical compound intended as ...

, it also conducts research in the area of detection, protection and decontamination of hazardous chemicals. Research and development activities at DRDO cover important demarcated disciplines like aeronautics, rockets and missiles, electronics and instrumentation, combat vehicles, engineering, naval systems, armament technology including explosives research, terrain research, advanced computing, artificial intelligence, robotics, works study, systems analysis and life sciences including high-altitude agriculture, physiology, food technology and nuclear medicine. In addition to undertaking research and development activities, DRDO also assists the Services by rendering technical advice regarding formulation of requirements, evaluation of systems to be acquired, fire and explosive safety and mathematical and statistical analysis of operational problems. DRDO offers specialised training at its two premier training institutions called Institute of Armament Technology, Pune and Defence Institute of Work Study, Mussoorie. The courses at these institutions have been evolved primarily to meet the needs of DRDO, Department of Defence Production and Supplies and the three Services.

Projects and Products

Technologies for Civilian use

As a by-product of its research, the lab also develops civilian applications of biotechnology, especially in human waste disposal, disease control, pest control, etc. As is common with DRDO laboratories, many of the technologies developed by DRDE are available for civil use and have been transferred to private sector. Technologies transferred to the civilian sector include diagnostic kits/systems for Anthrax, Dengue, Plague,

Malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or deat ...

, and other infections. It has also developed insecticides, pest repellents and water quality testing and purification kits. Its major thrust area is defence against Bio-Terrorism, including chemicals agents like Sarin and biological agents like Botulinum neurotoxin.

References

External links