National Conference on ‘Indian Defence System and Role of National Cadet Corps inaugurated at NIT-R

A National Conference on ‘Indian Defence System and Role of National Cadet Corps -NCC’ has been organised in NIT Rourkela by NCC-NIT Rourkela. The inaugural ceremony for this two-day national conference was held on Friday today at Bhubaneswar Behera Auditorium of NIT Rourkela.

The conference began with a spectacular dance performance by students and children honouring the soldiers of the country. The convener of the conference, Lieutenant. Prof. Ajit Behera ,Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, of NIT Rourkela welcomed the registered 150 NCC cadets. In his address he said, “The aim and objective of this conference are to focus attention on the current scenario, technologies and research activities in “Indian Defence System” and responsibilities of NCC cadets. This two-day conference will cover 16 talks and more than 50 poster presentations from various battalions of India.”

Guest of Honour of the session Colonel SC Kulkarni, CO 9(O) Battalion, motivated the cadets to join the Indian defence system and said, “NCC India with more than 13 lakh cadets in all three wings of NCC, i.e. Army, Navy, Air Force, is the one of the largest youth force of the world and it is rapidly increasing. With the rise of global security challenges of the 21st century, Asymmetric warfare (economic warfare, satellite warfare, cyber warfare or AI-generated technologies, which can act and think like humans) has emerged, and the next generation should learn to deal with these challenges. I extend my best wishes to all the attending NCC Cadets for their successful completion of presentation during the conference.”

Distinguished guest Colonel P. D. Gyatso of Group head Quarter, Sambalpur, Odisha Battalion, briefed on the career opportunities in Indian military forces and said, “Indian Armed Forces is one of the strongest armed forces of the world. With the strength of over 1.4 million active defence force, it is the second largest in the world and can fight the so-called superpowers. With departments like Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the country has reduced the number of imports in buying technologies and weapons. Fulfilling the Make in India vision, we have developed modern technologies. NCC cadets perusing science or engineering can join DRDO or other R&D wings under the ministry of defence and take the organisation to a better height.”

The chief guest Prof K. Umamaheshwar Rao, Director of NIT-R  inspired the NCC cadets with the story of the youngest Param Vir Chakra awardee Subedar Major Yogendra Singh Yadav and said, “One boy at the age of 19, profusely wounded with multiple bullets, succeeded in capturing the Tiger Hill during the Kargil War. This story speaks to the sense of patriotism and reminds us that the comfort we enjoy in our daily lives is due to soldiers patrolling the country’s borders in odd circumstances. We must be grateful each day for their efforts and sacrifices. As NCC cadets are youth, who are being ready to serve the nation and its people, we at NIT Rourkela are giving academic credit points to students for joining the NCC-NIT Rourkela so that youth can lead a life of discipline and contribute to the nation.”

Followed by the inaugural session, the second session of the event has keynote speeches by Lieutenant Udaya, Captain Arya Jena and Lieutenant P. K. Sahoo on topics like ‘Career and Job Opportunities for NCC Cadets’, ‘Exploring the Robust Defence System’ and ‘Role of NCC In Disaster Management’ respectively. Later in the day, NCC cadets presented their thoughts on different subjects like ‘Ballistic And Cruise Missile Systems’, ‘Artificial Intelligence and role of computer technology in Indian defence system’, ‘5G technology in Indian defence system’, ‘Role of NCC in Making New Leaders’, ‘War Heroes and their Impact on Defence Innovations’, ‘Implementation Of New Ideas And Upgradation in our Defence System’ etc.

The aim of the conference is to encourage the young generations towards technology development and research by interacting with prominent academicians in the related field. The conference will also open opportunities for collaborative technology development activities nationwide and abroad. The conference panel will discuss proposing a master’s degree course on ‘Defence technology’ at NIT Rourkela.  The two days conference will close on Saturday. In this event various types of NCC cadets from Odisha as well as other parts of the country participated with much ethos and enthusiasm. This is the first ever conference organized at a technical institution like NIT-R.