New Delhi: The National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) on Tuesday marked its 72nd Foundation Day with the inauguration of the Systems Engineering Facility (SEF), a major national initiative aimed at strengthening India’s deep-tech commercialisation and innovation ecosystem.
The facility was inaugurated by Dr N. Kalaiselvi, Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Secretary, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Government of India, in the presence of Cmde. Amit Rastogi (Retd.), Chairman and Managing Director of NRDC, along with senior dignitaries from academia, industry and government.
Strengthening India’s Deep-Tech and Innovation Ecosystem
Addressing the gathering, Cmde. Amit Rastogi highlighted NRDC’s seven-decade-long journey in facilitating technology transfer and its renewed strategic focus on deep-tech commercialisation, startup and MSME support, and building institutional mechanisms to bridge the gap between research outcomes and market deployment.
He said NRDC’s initiatives are closely aligned with national priorities such as Viksit Bharat@2047, Startup India and Atmanirbhar Bharat, reaffirming the organisation’s commitment to developing globally competitive indigenous technologies.
MoU with INCOSE to Build Systems Engineering Capabilities
As part of the Foundation Day celebrations, NRDC exchanged a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) to promote collaborative innovation and strengthen systems engineering capabilities in India.
Launch of Systems Engineering Facility
A key highlight of the event was the launch of the Systems Engineering Facility, established as a national platform by NRDC in strategic collaboration with Pimpri Chinchwad College of Engineering (PCCoE), Maharashtra. The inauguration took place in the presence of Mr Prasanna Ramamurthy, President, INCOSE, and Dr G. N. Kulkarni, Director, PCCoE.
In her address, Dr Kalaiselvi emphasised the critical role of systems engineering in managing technological complexity, accelerating innovation, and ensuring that indigenous research matures into scalable and deployable solutions.
The SEF will provide end-to-end support across the innovation lifecycle, including requirements analysis, system architecture design, modelling and simulation, system integration, verification and validation, particularly for incubated startups, MSMEs and innovators.
Technology Licensing and Commercialisation Push
Reflecting NRDC’s broader mandate of enhancing industry participation in publicly funded research, multiple technology licensing agreements were signed during the event. These included the licensing of an electric tractor technology developed by CSIR–CMERI, West Bengal, to Mistrijee Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Patna, and a sustainable vegan leather alternative developed by CSIR–NIIST, Thiruvananthapuram, licensed to M/s EcoSolutions Pvt. Ltd.
The plant-based vegan leather technology, developed using agro-residues, underscores NRDC’s focus on sustainable and environmentally responsible innovations.
Awards and Seed Funding for Innovators
NRDC also recognised outstanding contributions by its employees across various categories. Khushboo (Public Relations & Corporate Communications) received the Best Employee (Non-Technical) award for enhancing NRDC’s brand visibility. Technology Presentation awards were presented to Prithee Niharika, Deputy Manager (winner), and Priyanka Aswal, Senior Technical Assistant (runner-up). Dr Akanksha Jain, Deputy Manager, received the award for the Naming and Logo Designing Contest for the AI-enabled Technology Exchange.
Further strengthening startup support, NRDC announced seed funding of ₹30 lakh each for VoltWorks Technologies Pvt. Ltd., for its automotive-grade electric vehicle powertrain solution, and Tri Nano Technologies, for its advanced nano-coating technology for solar panels.
New Initiative for MSMEs
NRDC also launched the MSME–Technology Transfer Facilitation Centre, which will offer MSMEs financial support of up to 70 percent for intellectual property protection and technology acquisition. The initiative aims to lower innovation costs, enhance competitiveness and accelerate the commercialisation of indigenous technologies.
About NRDC
The National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) is a Government of India enterprise under the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR). Established in 1953, NRDC plays a pivotal role in promoting, developing and commercialising technologies originating from publicly funded research institutions, fostering innovation-driven growth and supporting startups, MSMEs and industry across India.
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