Kerala - Kochi   

Top DRDO award for Kochi scientists

KOCHI: The Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL) at Kakkand here, which is the only Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) unit in Kerala, will put gloss to its reputation on Monday when its scientific team receives the DRDO’s highest team honour, Agni, from the Prime Minister at a ceremony in Delhi. The award, for developing the submarine Sonar technology that has been successfully inducted by the Navy, underscores the NPOL’s core competence in developing underwater surveillance technologies. The “Agni award for self-reliance” with a Rs. 5-lakh purse is awarded to a successful effort of a team of scientists that helps the nation to stand on its own feet in an area of defence technology. Project director S. Vijayan Pillai, whose team developed the Sonar technology, will receive the award.

The NPOL, only one its kind in the country, has previously received awards of best systems laboratory and best science laboratory as well as several other honours.

The Sonar (short for sound navigation and ranging), is basically a remote-sensing technique that uses sound waves to detect, locate and identify objects in water. The submarine Sonar system that the NPOL team developed has been manufactured by Bharat Electronics, Bangalore, for the Navy. Hitherto, the country used foreign systems. A typical submarine Sonar system costs around Rs. 40-60 crores.

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