IIT Hyderabad, Indian Army Partner to Establish CoE VIGRAHA
The Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IIT Hyderabad) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Army Training Command, Shimla to establish a Centre of Excellence (CoE) named VIGRAHA (Virtual, Intelligent, Ground-breaking Research in AR/VR and High-tech Applications for Indian Army).
Represented by the Simulator Development Division (SDD), Secunderabad, this collaboration aims to drive advanced research and innovation in Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, unmanned systems, and emerging defence technologies.
The agreement was formalised in the presence of Prof. B.S. Murty, Director, IIT Hyderabad. From the Army side, Brigadier A.K. Chaturvedi, along with Col Hari Om Ahlawat and Lt Col Anupam Porwal, represented SDD. The initiative from IIT Hyderabad was led by Prof. G. Narahari Sastry, Dean (Sponsored Research & Consultancy), with Dr. Shiva Ji, Associate Professor, serving as the Principal Investigator (PI) of the Centre.
The primary objective of CoE VIGRAHA is to build a robust framework for joint academic programmes, R&D projects, innovation initiatives, and capacity-building exercises, ensuring technology-driven transformation for the Indian Armed Forces.