Pune, August 1: A national seminar titled “Military Explosives and Propellants: Safety and Compliance” was organized by the Quality Assurance Controller (Military Explosives) under the Directorate of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence, Government of India, in Pune.
The seminar featured Sanjeev Kumar, Secretary of the Defence Production Department, as the chief guest. The welcome address was delivered by N. Manoharan, Director General of Quality Assurance.
Prominent policymakers, senior government officials, leaders from the defence production sector, scientists, industry experts, and academics gathered for this event. Notable attendees included Dr. Garima Bhagat, Joint Secretary (Land Systems), Prakash Rajpurohit, Joint Secretary (DIP), and the Chairman and Managing Director of Munitions India Limited, along with representatives from the explosives industry, scientists from the Defence Research and Development Organisation, and experts from leading educational institutions.
The seminar provided a national platform for discussions on policies and institutional mechanisms to strengthen safety and compliance in the military explosives and propellants sector. Key topics included enhancing process safety, reducing accidents in explosive manufacturing plants, promoting automation, adopting advanced safety technologies, and improving coordination among government agencies, defence public sector undertakings, private industries, research organizations, and academia.
Special emphasis was placed on establishing a comprehensive safety framework covering the entire life cycle of military explosives and propellants—from design and development to manufacturing, testing, transportation, storage, operational use, and deployment.
The seminar contributed to discussions on formulating a policy framework and establishing a joint working group comprising representatives from the government, defence establishments, public and private industries, research organizations, and the education sector. The proposed working group’s aim is to facilitate coordinated action, share best practices, develop common safety protocols, and continuously improve accident prevention measures.
The ultimate goal of the seminar was to strengthen the national security apparatus and support the availability of safe, reliable, and quality weapons and ammunition for the Indian Armed Forces, while also enabling innovation, technological advancement, and responsible development within the domestic defence industry.
Dr. T.K. Varadarajan, Controller of the Quality Assurance Controller’s Office (Military Explosives) and organizer of the national seminar, presented the vote of thanks.
This seminar reflected the Government of India’s commitment to promoting a robust culture of safety, compliance, innovation, and collaboration in the military explosives and propellants sector.
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