New Delhi (29/09/2022): DRDO has taken on the task to help ITBP by roping in their world renowned Biochemistry and Material Physics experts at the DRDO HQ New Delhi and DRDO Gwalior to conduct a pioneering R&D to manufacture K9 Target Odour Scent Pads in a never before attempted “Make in India for India” project to break foreign monopoly.
The famous DRDO Scientist Dr Sangita Rao Achary Addanki, Director DLIC DRDO and Dr Om Kumar , Scientist G, a world acknowledged biochemistry expert are helming this project to manufacture K9 Scent Pads at 1/100th of the cost of Foreign K9 Scent pads. This initiative of ITBP to approach DRDO would help all CAPFs/ State Police Organisations and Security Forces including Indian Army is having specific explosive and narcotic scent kits to enhance the olfactory conditioning of Service K9s in detection of explosives and narcotics.
The costing of these ‘Scent pad kits” as per official website of a US Company having distributors in India is as under :- Each one of the Scent Kits for Heroin/ Opium, Marijuana, Fentanyl, LSD and MDMA are $ 369.98 ie Rs 29,127 each. In addition to this, each scent kit for TNT, Nitroglycerine, PETN, Semtex etc also cost $ 369.98 ie Rs 29,127 each. The TATP scent pad costs $ 599.99 ie Rs 47,235. Each of these foreign kits can be used for a few times thus would incur huge recurrent expenditure and would be a drain on foreign exchange.
Presently all Security Forces K9s in India are conditioned on ‘real matierals’ however having a specific target odour impregnated on an inert material would remove numerous teething troubles in K9 scent olfaction.
DRDO arranged for a high level scientific meeting with DIG Sudhakar Natarajan, the Veterinary Head of ITBP and roped in DRDO Gwalior Experts via video conferencing to understand the technical parameters of this technical project.
On behalf of DG ITBP a memento was presented by DIG Sudhakar Natarajan, to mark this unique DRDO Research Project to Dr Om Kumar, the Chief Coordinator of this project that would make India ‘atmanirbhar’ in the field of K9 Scent Pads and Olfaction Technology.
