Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) is operating a Research Centre dedicated to defence technologies jointly with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to develop advanced technologies for national defence and security needs of the nation. While initially established by DRDO, this centre has now been taken over by IIT Madras and converted into a ‘Centre of Excellence’, an interdisciplinary research group that brings in faculty and researchers from multiple departments to undertake translational research.