National Data Centre to be set up in Bengaluru

A National Data Centre for Test Data Archival and Analysis will be set up in Bengaluru in the next two years.

The centre will host archives of designs, failure mode analyses, prognostics, and data related to Research and Development (R&D) in the country.

“Most of the R&D in our country till today have been carried out by government agencies and there is no archiving of the design efforts, failure mode analyses, prognostics, and design. The data goes with the people who are going home after retirement. So we should set up a National Data Centre for Test Data where we can archive this data,” A.P.V.S. Prasad, chief executive, Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC) told The Hindu.

Speaking at the sidelines of the Drone Day 2025 organised by NSRCEL, the incubation hub of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), he said that a centre would come up at CEMILAC.

CEMILAC is a regulatory body under DRDO, vested with the responsibility of airworthiness certification of military air assets in the country.

“There are many reasons why designers refuse to share data, like Intellectual Property (IP) violation, fear of the unknown, and secrecy. So we have to create a framework for data sharing and protection of IP Rights. CEMILAC has taken up this initiative to set up the centre and constituted a national committee,” Mr. Prasad said.

Army to augment production

In the wake of the crucial role played by autonomous warfare systems like drones during Operation Sindoor, the Indian Army is scaling up the production and induction of new drones.

“After Operation Sindoor, the Indian Army realised that there is a lot of potential for drones and it is not only here at 515 Army Base Workshop in Bengaluru, but at every level, the army is trying to either assemble, understand, fly or manufacture drones wherever possible,” Colonel Lakshya Chauhan, project head, Drone Manufacturing, Indian Army, told The Hindu.

He added that the Indian Army needs drones in large numbers and they need it immediately.

“We did a survey during Operation Sindoor where we called companies (drone manufacturers) and asked them how many drones they have for supply. There were certain limitations — some were only having prototypes and they did not have drones for direct supply. Hence, at that time, the army felt a crunch in numbers. Therefore, the Indian Army started drone labs and drone hubs in every military station,” he added.

He further said that the Indian Army is working towards Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi’s dream of having an Eagle drone on every soldier’s arm.

“The Chief of Army Staff has a dream of having an Eagle drone on every soldier’s arm. We are fulfilling that,” he said.