Taking a major stride towards strengthening India’s defence innovation and technological self-reliance, the Indian Army and the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) have joined hands through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at EME School, Vadodara on November 4, 2025.
The MoU was signed by Prof Rajat Moona, Director, IITGN and Major General Mohit Gandhi, Commandant, EME School, Vadodara, on behalf of Indian Army, marking the beginning of a long-term collaboration focused on research, development, and academic exchange.
Under this partnership, IITGN, in collaboration with the Indian Army and its associated institutes, will work on specific operational and technological requirements of the Army through innovation-driven research, joint projects, capability and knowledge building, training, internships, consultancies and technology incubation.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof Rajat Moona, Director, IITGN said, “This collaboration facilitates utilisation of cutting-edge academic research to solve real-world operational requirements of the Indian Army and contributes towards advancing national security, indigenous development and defence innovation”.
Major General Mohit Gandhi, Commandant, EME School, Vadodara, stated that the MoU lays a strong foundation for collaborative research, development and academic exchange in areas crucial to the future battlefield including armament technology, sensing systems, artificial intelligence, robotics, cyber security and other niche domains. Through this partnership, IIT Gandhinagar, in collaboration with EME School and the associated institutes of Indian Army, will work on specific problem statements and operational challenges faced by the Army, converting them into opportunities for innovation, technology incubation and indigenous solutions.
The MoU marks a significant step towards advancing civil–military cooperation in defence innovation aligned with the vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.