Speaker Name : Padma Bhushan Shri V K Saraswat

About Speaker : Shri Vijay Kumar Saraswat, India's most gifted scientist and an accomplished researcher with more than four decades of experience spanning over several fields and areas in both basic and applied sciences of the defence research. Apart from being a scientist, he is a rare combination of an innovator, technologist, and visionary. During his illustrious career, from Scientist to Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister, Director to Director General DRDO and Secretary to Dept of Defence R&D, Shri Saraswat has been credited with the development of Liquid Propulsion Rocket Engines and missiles namely PRITHVI, DHANUSH, PRAHAAR indigenously.   Shri Saraswat brought new dimensions to the strategic defence scenario through successful test firing of AGNI-5, SHOURYA, Initial Operational Clearance for Light Combat Aircraft TEJAS, and induction of INS Arihant. Thus, today nations can boast of reaching any shores in the world with the nuclear-capable missiles with different strike ranges. Under his leadership, DRDO provided the technologies developed by them for societal benefits namely Solar Powered Modular Green Shelters, Bio-Digesters, AAHAR programs, explosive detection kit, Diagnostic Units for Dengu, and Chickengunia, etc.